Not With Haste
by tpobaw
Summary: Slow burn Harry/Daphne. How would Harry's 5th year have gone if he was a bit smarter and Dumbledore was a bit more helpful? And what role does a blond haired blue eyed Slytherin play in all of this? Story takes place after book 4, T rating for language (may be bumped up in the future). Title from the Mumford and Sons song by the same name.
1. Chapter 1

"We can't say much about you-know-what, obviously. . ." "We've been told not to say anything important in case our letters go astray. . ." "We're quite busy but I can't give you details here. . ." "There's a fair amount going on, we'll tell you everything when we see you. . ."*

Harry sighed longly as he read the latest update, if he could even call it that, from Hermione. Voldemort was back and no one felt the need to let him know what was going on. It frustrated him to no end. He had not expected much from Ron, or any of the Weasleys for that matter, and he knew that Sirius was probably just as clueless as he was, so he was really counting on Hermione to let him know what was going on. Yet every letter she sent was exactly the same. She'd write that she can't say much giving some excuses as to why and end the letter saying she hoped to see him soon.

Add to all that the fact that the prophet had been trying to make it sound like he was some delusional lunatic for the entirety of the summer so far, and Harry Potter was quite upset. His relatives had thankfully left him alone and made it abundantly clear that as long as he didn't bother them and wasn't getting into trouble, that they would continue to let him be. It was more than Harry had expected, and he accepted the offer graciously.

He decided to go for a walk to help calm himself down. He quickly pulled on his trainers, and quietly made his way out the front door as his aunt and uncle were watching the television and he didn't want to mess up this tentative truce they had going. Once he stepped outside and felt the blistering heat radiating from the afternoon sun he immediately reconsidered the walk, but he didn't want to do anything to risk angering his aunt and uncle, so he decided against going back inside and started at a slow pace around the neighborhood. He found himself nearing the park when he heard a voice yell out his name. "Hey Harry, slow down!"

He turned and saw Dudley walking quickly towards him. Harry quickly debated speeding up, and pretending he hadn't heard him, but as far as Harry could tell Dudley was alone, and he had definitely been nicer to him this summer. He could even say that he was acting decent towards him.

"Come on Harry, slow down." Harry finally slowed to a stop and let his vastly larger cousin reach him before continuing his walk at a slower pace so that Dudley could keep up. Dudley looked rather nervous and they walked for a few minutes in uncomfortable silence. Finally Dudley spoke up and asked in a curious tone "Who's Cedric?"

Harry immediately frowned at Dudley and sent a glare his way "How do you know that name?"

"Woah, sorry Harry, I've just heard you saying his name late at night and was curious as to who he was." Harry's face turned pale. He had been having nightmares about the last task, and often woke up drenched in sweat and breathing heavy, but he didn't realize he had been loud enough to seemingly wake Dudley up.

Harry debated telling his cousin anything, but eventually spoke with a quiet voice "Cedric was a friend of mine who was murdered at the end of the school year. I've been having some nightmares about it recently."

"What do you mean murdered? Did someone kill him while he was at the school?"

"No, someone managed to transport the two of us off of the school grounds. They killed him instantly."

"You can't be serious." Dudley said shocked.

Harry felt his temper begin to rise "I am serious," he began heatedly "I know what I saw, I'm not just making up stories!"

"I didn't mean to say that I didn't believe you, I was just surprised is all" Dudley said calmly trying to placate him. "So, who kidnapped you guys, and how did you escape?"

Harry really didn't feel up to sharing that particular story "I'd rather not talk about it."

"That's fine Harry." they fell once again into an uncomfortable silence which Harry broke this time

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Harry asked as this was something he was curious about. Dudley had never been very nice, in fact most times he'd been outright vindictive.

Dudley looked relieved at the change of topic and began to contemplate his answer. "I guess it was just a mutual decision by all three of us that we've given you too much shit that you didn't deserve, and a few summers ago after you blew up aunt Marge I think mum and dad finally realized that pretty soon you would be able to defend yourself. Then we found out that your godfather is an escaped mass murderer, and well, it seemed like a smart idea to leave you be." Dudley responded.

Ah, Harry thought to himself, that explained it. They were afraid of him and what he might do to them in retaliation of all the abuse they'd heaped on him throughout the years. He wouldn't lie and say he never thought about taking revenge on them, but things were different now. He decided that if they left him alone, as they were doing now, for the remainder of the time he spent at number four Privet Drive, then he would leave them alone too.

They fell into another silence that was still awkward, but not as bad. Dudley began to talk about anything he could think of, sports, school, girls, and they continued just walking until Harry noticed that the sun was beginning to drop lower in the sky. "We should probably be getting home soon or else your parents might get worried."

"Yeah you're probably right." Dudley said, "here cut through this alley it'll save us some time."

Harry already knew that and was just about to suggest it himself, so he complied without question. They walked into the narrow alley with Harry leading the way and Dudley a step behind him. They were about halfway through when Harry felt the temperature drop significantly. The light from the mid-afternoon sun had all but disappeared and Harry could already begin to hear the voice of his mother screaming that Voldemort spare him.

"Dudley get on the ground and go fetal. Say nothing, and don't move, and whatever you do keep your mouth closed." Harry said in a composed and commanding voice. Dudley whimpered, but complied. What were dementors doing here? As far as Harry knew after his third year they had all been confined to Azkaban, but obviously he was wrong. Did Voldemort take control of them? Or maybe Fudge was trying to silence him once and for all? He would have to think about that later, because his breath was already beginning to fog and his mother's screams grew louder.

He knew that he would most likely get in trouble with the ministry, but at this point there was nothing else he could do. He raised his wand and focused on a happy memory, then with a clear voice he yelled out "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Immediately a gigantic silver white stag erupted from Harry's wand. It looked around and quickly went after the dementor that was behind the two of them. Harry could see what the dementors were trying to do as one came from behind them in the alleyway, and the other was blocking the front. They had wanted to trap them in between the two dementors giving them nowhere to run. The patronus neared the dementor, dropped his head, and ran its antlers right through the dementor throwing it back a solid thirty feet. It then turned around and started sprinting towards the other dementor who was already trying to fly away as quickly as it could. The patronus just managed to reach the dementor and smack it forward. It then returned to Harry looked around to see if there was any more danger. Not finding any it just simply looked at him before disappearing along with a warm breeze.

Harry immediately turned around and checked on Dudley who was just staring open mouthed and wide eyed. "What the bloody hell was that deer?! And why did it get so cold all of the sudden, and why did I feel so helpless?" Dudley started yelling frantically.

"Calm down Dudley, those were called dementors they're gone now. We need to get home and get you some chocolate." Harry said. Dudley didn't make any motion to get up "Can you stand?" Harry asked.

"I… I think so." replied Dudley. They started walking the short distance that remained to reach number 4 and were just about to exit the other side of the alley.

That was when Ms. Figg ran into the alley screaming. "Dementors, what are dementors doing here. Come quick Harry, we need to get you to your house. You'll be safe there and I need to floo Dumbledore."

At this point, Harry was as confused as he had ever been. First, he had managed to have a civil conversation with Dudley, then bloody dementors tried to kill the both of them, and now his crazy neighbor, the one that reeked of cabbage and cat urine was apparently a witch and she knew how to get into contact with Albus Dumbledore. It showed how messed up his life was when he followed the crazy cat lady without question.

* * *

Daphne Greengrass heard the floo go off and immediately rushed to the foyer to meet her father as he arrived home from work. Daphne knew that her father Anthony Greengrass was considered by many to be an imposing man. He is a man with power, affluence, and if he so desires influence. He stands at about six feet two inches tall, has a strong jaw and dark hair. His most striking feature however was his light blue eyes that were nearly electric in color and did a good job of making him stand out in a crowd. It was precisely those eyes that had caught the attention of Daphne's mother back in their days at Hogwarts. Daphne's mum Scarlett was, and still is an extremely beautiful women, and even at her age, she and her daughters could pass for sisters. Her long hair is a honey blonde that compliments her hazel eyes beautifully, and ever since she was little Daphne thought that her mum looked like a queen.

As her father stepped out of the floo he quickly vanished the soot that had stuck to his robes and then told his wife that she looked beautiful.

Scarlett looked at him endearingly and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, but when she pulled back he pulled her closer lifted her off her feet and gave her another kiss as he spun her around. He put her down and Daphne couldn't hold in her giggling, as he looked her way and sent her a wink as her mum halfheartedly swatted at his chest.

Mum sent him a glare and then said, "Why don't we all step into the dining room as dinner will be ready shortly."

Soon enough they were all seated at the table, and after another minute the table was immediately filled to the brink with food. They all thanked Missy, the Greengrass house elf, and began to eat. Astoria was chatting animatedly about what she had been up to today as she had a few friends over for the day and the rest of the family seemed content to just listen. Just after the main course had been cleared and dessert was served an official ministry owl swept through the open window and landed in front of Daphne's father.

The room fell silent as he read the letter. His face stayed completely stoic as he continued to scan through the parchment. This was something that Daphne had become accustomed to. Whenever he was doing something that had to do with his work he put on a mask and was very serious, but at home he was carefree. She had begun to do the same thing. Whenever she wasn't at home she put on a mask of cold indifference. Add to that the fact that she looked exactly like her mother, except for her father's eyes, and she had quickly earned her the nickname of the ice princess at school.

Her father finished the letter and set it down. Immediately Astoria, spoke up curiously "Who was it daddy, why are they owling you so late?"

"Astoria, it is not polite to be nosy. Especially when it concerns your father's work, you know he is not allowed to say much." Her mum quickly reprimanded her.

"No darling this wasn't from work. It was an official summons to a trial in front of the Wizengamot in a few weeks."

Her mum looked surprised "For who?" she asked, and after a moment's pause she added "And why on such short notice? Surely they haven't caught Black?"

"No, Black is to be kissed on sight. This is for the trial of one Harry James Potter." Her father replied. He sounded as surprised as all the girls looked when they heard the news.

Daphne's mind began to race. What could the Gryffindor golden boy have done to warrant a trial in front of the Wizengamot? "Potter is going on trial in front of the Wizengamot? What the hell did he do?" She half asked, half thought aloud.

Anthony looked shocked, and Daphne knew why. She never cursed in front of her parents and rarely cursed at all. "You would do well to watch your language young lady." he reprimanded her, but he answered her question anyway "It seems he has performed underage magic, and in front of a muggle no less."

"Does it state why?" inquired Scarlett. She looked doubtful and Daphne was sure her facial expression matched her mother's.

"No that's all that it writes about the matter. It also includes the exact time and the room number for where the trial will be held."

"But surely that isn't cause to be tried by the entire Wizengamot, is it dad?" Daphne asked. She knew like everyone else that Potter lived with muggles and assumed that the muggles that had seen the magic had probably already known about the wizarding world anyway.

"No, as far as I know it isn't, but you've all seen as well as I have that Fudge is running a smear campaign against the young man." Her father responded carefully "This is likely a ploy to try to at the least discredit him, and at the most have his wand snapped and get him expelled from Hogwarts." All three of the Greengrass women gasped at that. "Enough of this talk, it's getting late let's finish our desserts and you two should be going up to bed soon."

Daphne recognized the dismissal and stood quickly with Astoria following her lead. They both kissed their parents good night and headed up the stairs to where their rooms are located.

"So, you really think he is going to get his wand snapped and be expelled?" Astoria asked.

Daphne considered the question. "I doubt it, I'm almost one hundred percent certain that Dumbledore will get him out of this," She said, "but what was the idiot thinking using magic away from school?"

Astoria shrugged "I'm sure we'll find out later after dad goes to the hearing. Good night Daphne."

"Good night Astoria." she answered back and quickly headed into her room. Once inside she quickly changed into her pyjamas and crawled into bed, but try as she might she couldn't sleep. Her thoughts kept returning to Potter and how he would have to face trial in front of the entire Wizengamot for something as trivial as underage magic. The Government really was incompetent. Daphne knew that Potter's story of the dark lord's resurrection was true as Malfoy had spent the last few days at Hogwarts gloating to everyone in Slytherin that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was going to be spending the summer at his family manor.

Most of her acquaintances from Salazars esteemed house were happy with the news, or they were at the least pretending to be. Daphne however was not. Her father had managed to get through the last war while staying neutral, but Daphne doubted that he could make it through this one without picking a side. She knew that he was already being pressured both ways. He was after all, an extremely influential and wealthy man, and whoever he backed would gain a lot. Her only hope was that the war would be taken care of before it began, if not she had no idea what would happen. Finally, she managed to drift off into a restless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

When Harry arrived back to the Dursley's house supporting a weak and visibly shaken Dudley, while also being followed by the neighborhood loon he expected that a clamor would ensue. He was right. As soon as they walked through the door Petunia was fretting over Dudley, while Vernon was shouting at Harry asking what freakish things he'd done to his child. Mrs. Figg was trying loudly to explain what had happened, but no one was paying the insane cat lady any attention, and there in the middle of it all stood Harry calmly, waiting.

"Well boy, what did you do to my son?" Yelled Vernon. The rest of the house had finally quieted, and everyone else was waiting for Harry to answer. Harry debated whether to tell the truth or lie, but his decision was made up for him when Dudley spoke.

"Dad we were just going for a walk together, and all of the sudden it started to get really cold and I felt so helpless, like I was drowning and I couldn't break the surface to get the air that I needed." Dudley paused for breath, but before he was able to continue Vernon had already covered the distance between Harry and himself and he picked Harry up by the shirt. He slammed him into the wall hard enough that Harry had the wind knocked out of him.

"Last chance you freak tell me what the hell you did to Dudley!" Vernon demanded.

Harry was still trying to breathe and was gasping for air before he finally managed to pull in a breath and he immediately began to cough. He tried several times to say something, but he couldn't. "Saved him." he finally croaked out a bit later, causing Vernon's grip on his shirt to tighten.

Vernon looked like he was about to hit Harry again, and Harry was doing his best to brace himself when Dudley yelled out to stop "He's telling the truth dad. I don't know what he did, but as soon as he pulled out his wand and said something, I finally felt like I had escaped what was suffocating me and I could breathe again. Like I said I don't know what he did, but I do know he saved my life." Dudley finished in a tone that was almost daring his father to try to contradict him.

Vernon noticed this and slowly lowered Harry, who was still trying to catch his breath, back to the floor. "Well what happened boy?" Vernon asked in a less angry tone, but he certainly wasn't happy.

"Dementors." was all Harry could get out.

"Demen-what?" asked Vernon.

"Dementors," responded Mrs. Figg finally getting over the shock of the most famous wizard in Britain being slammed into a wall by a muggle. "they're some of the most vile creatures in the entire world. They make you relive your worst memories while also making you feel like your son described. The only way to beat them is to cast a spell that only a percentage of fully trained wizards are powerful enough to cast."

Vernon looked like he was about to reply or ask another question when an owl suddenly flew in and landed next to Harry. Harry quickly snatched the letter from the owl and began to read.

 _Dear Mr. Potter,_

 _We have received intelligence that you performed the Patronus Charm at twenty-three minutes past nine this evening in a Muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of a Muggle._

 _The severity of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has resulted in your expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ministry representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand._

 _As you have already received an official warning for a previous offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9 a.m. on August 12th._

 _Hoping you are well, Yours sincerely,_

 _Mafalda Hopkirk_

 _improper use of magic office_

 _Ministry of Magic*_

Harry felt his stomach drop. How could they possibly expel him from Hogwarts and snap his wand? He did what he had to do to save his and Dudley's lives, not because he just felt like breaking the law. Did they even care? He doubted it, while wizards could do some amazing things they also happened to be some of the dumbest people he knew.

Harry was still contemplating the letter when he heard the telltale crack of apparition outside and quickly got up and started for the back door, he was hoping he could outrun whoever it was that came to snap his wand. Mrs. Figg had quickly walked towards the front door and checked through the eyehole in the door before yelling out to Harry "Stop Harry it's just Dumbledore."

Harry felt so relieved he could throw up. Dumbledore quickly walked into the house exerting confidence and control over the situation that helped to ease Harry's nerves. He was wearing his signature star and moon robes and Harry could already see the looks of fear and disgust on his aunt and uncles faces. "Vernon, Petunia hello. Mrs. Figg thank you for notifying me when you did. Harry, you've certainly caused quite a stir. Have you received anything from the Ministry yet?"

"This letter, sir." said Harry handing him the note "Sir? Are they really going to expel me and snap my wand?" Harry asked fearfully.

"Not if I have anything to say about it Harry." He looked over the note quickly and seemed to have a quick mental debate with himself before he finally spoke again. "It is clear that Minister Fudge's paranoia has reached an alarming level, Harry. I do not know if he specifically sent those dementors, but they are under Ministry control at the moment. That being said I don't want to leave you here, and if you would so like I could take you somewhere hidden. I warded this property myself, and I do not want you to think I'm a braggart Harry, but I am quite strong and well versed in the art of warding." Dumbledore paused here, and Harry gave a slight chuckle at the understatement. "I also happen to know that a certain large grim loves to lounge about in the house and a few of your friends are also there. So tell me Harry, what do you think?"

"Thank you sir, I'd love to go there." Harry said lighting up immediately at the thought of seeing his godfather.

"Very good." said Dumbledore, and with a wave of his wand all of Harry's belongings quickly floated down the stairs and stacked themselves neatly. Harry snatched an indignant Hedwig out of the air and quickly confirmed with Dumbledore that if he let her fly out the window she would be able to find them later. Once that was settled Dumbledore touched his wand to Harry's belongings and quickly sent them on their way.

He looked at Harry and opened the door." Please wait outside a minute Harry. I would like to have a quick conversation with your lovely guardians." Harry hastily excused himself and only a few minutes later the door opened and Dumbledore walked out of 4 Privet drive and down the walkway towards the street. "Come Harry it's already late." Harry had a feeling he knew what the conversation was about, but decided he'd ask Dumbledore later.

Harry followed Dumbledore and they walked in silence for a few minutes. "Are we walking to this safe place?" Harry asked a few minutes later.

Dumbledore gave a light chuckle and continued to walk at his quick pace. "No Harry, I just needed to get us somewhere where I could side-along apparate you out of here. I was rather reckless in my hurry to get to you, and was frankly quite lucky that no one saw me apparate in." The headmaster replied.

Finally, after having reached a street with just a few lights and even fewer houses Dumbledore pulled out a strange looking device. If anyone had been watching they would've seen everything go pitch black for just a second, and when the lights came on again, it would look like the two people who had been standing there just a second ago had vanished into thin air.

Harry spent a few minutes trying not to vomit, when he finally felt he could open his eyes without showing his headmaster what he had for lunch, he began to look around. "Sir is this where the safe house is?" asked Harry with a bemused expression on his face. As far as he could tell he was looking at some houses that could have been quite nice once upon a time, but now they looked run down and shoddy. There was trash littered around the sidewalks and some of the windows were broken and boarded up as if no one had lived in most of these homes for a while. What confused Harry the most however, was the fact that it looked to be an entirely muggle neighborhood. The house they were standing in front of had the telly on and he could hear a stereo from somewhere down the street playing a rock song loudly.

Dumbledore responded by handing Harry a slip of paper. "If you would be so kind as to read that Harry, we can continue our conversation inside." He said with a small smile.

Harry looked at the slip of paper and read 'The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number 12, Grimmauld Place, London.' The paper then shriveled up and burned itself until not even the ashes remained. Harry looked up and saw that they were standing directly in front of 11 Grimmauld Place, so he quickly looked to the right and saw that the next house was 13.

He looked at Dumbledore who seemed to be enjoying this all too much, but answered his unasked question nonetheless. "Concentrate on what you've just read Harry." Harry recited in his head what he had just read and no sooner had he thought of Number 12 when 11 and 13 seemed to jump apart. Harry watched amazed as first a door, then walls and windows and a roof sprung up in front of him and assembled a house.

"Wow, that was incredible." he said quietly. "What was that sir?"

Dumbledore chuckled and began to lead the way into the house. "That is what's known as a fidelius charm. It hides away a building or piece of land so that it cannot be found by anyone except those who are given the secret by the secret keeper. Now I could have just told you the secret as _I_ am the secret keeper for this particular house, but I was weary of any ears that might have been listening.

"Now come quickly Harry I'm sure all of your friends are still up waiting for you, and I am nearly certain Molly has prepared you something to eat."

"Sir, what is the order of the phoenix anyway?" Harry asked.

"It is a group of wizards and witches that fight against Voldemort led by myself. It was founded during the war, and your parents were part of it" Dumbledore explained. "Now that Voldemort is back I have been getting into contact with some old friends and we have started it up again."

Harry was going to ask for more information but Dumbledore had opened the door and he got his first look at the inside of the house. He was extremely underwhelmed. He saw what appeared to be an umbrella stand made of a troll leg near the doorway and lots of ugly paintings. The entire house had a grimy sort of feel to it as if it were covered in a layer of dust that you couldn't get rid of. The house itself was quite large going up three stories not including the attic and Harry guessed that there must be plenty of rooms that he could explore if he wished to do so.

Harry was so caught up in looking around that he didn't notice Hermione running at him screaming his name until it was too late. With a thud she slammed her body into his and engulfed him in a tight hug. Harry was very happy to see her, but was also very quick to remember how annoyed he had been with her over these past few weeks because of her vague letters. He hugged her back briefly and then ended the contact. She gave him a confused look as her smile turned into a slight frown and even though he knew it was childish, and that it wasn't really her fault, it made him feel just a little better.

Next up was Ron who clapped him on the back, completely oblivious to what had just happened. Harry was upset with Ron as well over the lack of information received, but to be honest he had expected it from him, and they never wrote much about the news to each other over the years anyways, so Harry found himself forgiving him a little quicker. "Hey mate we've missed you. How have the muggles been treating you?"

Harry found himself smiling a bit at his oldest friend. "Not too bad actually. They've left me alone for the most part and as long as I wasn't bothering them they didn't bother me."

"That's great mate! The twins and Ginny are in the kitchen and mums made us wait for you to arrive before we could start eating, so let's get going mate. We can talk about our summers at the table." Harry gave a slight chuckle as he saw how eager Ron was to fill his stomach. Some things always stay the same.

When he walked into the kitchen he was immediately pulled into another bone crushing hug, this one courtesy of Mrs. Weasley. "Oh Harry we've all missed you very much. My goodness you're taller than you were just a few weeks ago and so skinny. Have those muggles been feeding you properly? Well it doesn't matter I suppose I can always make enough to get you up to a healthy weight." Although Harry would never admit it, he loved being doted on by Mrs. Weasley. Just the fact that someone seemed to care about him that much made him feel special. Maybe that's what it would be like to have a mum. He stopped thinking about it before he could start feeling too sorry for himself, it wouldn't do him any good and he couldn't change the past.

After she let go he was greeted with two simultaneous claps on each of his shoulders from the twins.

"Hello Harry." Started Fred.

"We sure are glad to see you" continued to George.

Harry rolled his eyes at the two of them. "It's good to see you guys too."

Fred leaned in close to Harry's ear and whispered. "When you have time, we'd love to show our favorite financial backer what we've been working on. It really is quite impressive."

"Of course." Harry quickly replied enthusiastically. This was something he was excited about. He knew the twins were practically geniuses, and now that they had some money he was sure their pranks and wheezes would be superb. He found himself really looking forward to them showing him just what they had been able to concoct. He was sure it would be able to match and probably even surpass anything sold at other joke shops, even Zonko's.

The last person to greet him was Ginny and she walked right up to him and pulled him into a tight hug. "Hello Harry, I'm happy that you're finally here." she said with a smile "We've been cleaning out this dump and we need all the help we can get."

"Yeah, this place looks a little worse for wear, doesn't it?" Harry said. He was very happy to see Ginny acting normally around him. He was hoping she had gotten over her crush on him, and from the lack of a blush on her face and the way she was acting, it looked like she had had. He knew that she was a cool person to be around when she wasn't acting shyly, and he hoped to get to know the real her better while he was here.

"You don't know the half of it," she said "but you will soon. We start cleaning again tomorrow morning." All the others in the room groaned at the reminder, and the adults laughed a bit.

"Well come on, I'm sure we're all famished, so let's eat then." said Mrs. Weasley. They all sat down and enjoyed a delicious roast. Even Dumbledore, who Harry had thought would leave after dropping him off, stuck around to enjoy some of Mrs. Weasley's outstanding cooking.

After eating for a bit Harry finally noticed what was bothering him, someone was missing "Where's Sirius? I thought you said he'd be here." Harry directed his question towards Dumbledore.

"Yes, he should be returning tomorrow. He is helping me with a task at the moment, and has been away for a few days, but it seems everything is going to plan and he should be able to make it back soon without a hitch" Dumbledore replied.

Harry considered asking the headmaster where he was, but he knew that he probably would not get an answer, or an answer he liked better put. It was quite frustrating honestly. He, as well as everyone else, knew that he was number one on Voldemort's hit list, but no one seemed inclined to tell him any details that might just save his life. That being said, he didn't worry too much, because he knew Sirius would tell him everything if he just asked him. Shortly after that that they all finished eating and Molly told them to get to bed because she would be waking them up first thing in the morning.

The group followed Mrs. Weasley up the stairs, and she dismissed each of them as they reached their respective rooms. When Harry reached the room he would be sharing with Ron, he saw that his trunk and other belongings and possessions were stacked neatly next to his bed courtesy of Dumbledore. He quickly pulled out his pyjamas and changed into them. A lot had changed, and after such an eventful day he had fallen asleep before his head could properly hit the pillow.

Harry woke up in a cold sweat. He knew it was a nightmare that woke him up, but the dream itself was already fading and he couldn't remember what it was about. He glanced around the room and noticed that the clock on the wall read a quarter to five in the morning. Deciding he probably wouldn't get back to sleep anyway he quietly got out of bed and began to get dressed. He pulled out his toothbrush and toothpaste and made his way to the bathroom adjacent to their bedroom that Mrs. Weasley had pointed out last night and began to prepare himself for the day ahead.

When he finished his morning ritual he decided to explore a bit. He had found out last night at the dinner table that this was the home that Sirius grew up in, and he was certain that the Black family would have an extensive library. Now that Voldemort was back he had to do all he could to prepare. He had been regretting the fact that he wasn't trying his hardest these past few years and promised himself that he would give his all in every class every day from now on. He also wished that he hadn't taken divination, but rather spent his time on something more worthwhile like ancient runes. In fact, he had decided to ask Ms. McGonagall if there was any way he could drop divination and pick up Runes. He was sure if he worked hard enough he would be able to catch up with his fellow fifth years in time to take his OWL in the subject.

While he was thinking, he was wandering the halls searching for the library and eventually he pulled open a door to a room that could have only belonged to his godfather. He saw posters of muggle girls in bikinis lining the walls as well as some picture frames. Harry knew Sirius had ran away from home to live with James during the summer after fourth year, so he thought this must have been how he left it all those years ago, and from the looks of it no one has touched anything.

He walked slowly across the room looking at all the pictures. Most were of Sirius and James, but there were plenty of pictures with all four of the marauders doing silly things and goofing off. Harry noticed that most people were right when they said he looked like his father. James was a little more built than Harry, but other than that and their eye colors they could easily pass for twins. Harry was sad to not see any pictures of his mother, but it made sense as she and James only started dating at the end of their sixth years. Finally, with one last look around the room, Harry left and set off once again to find the library.

He finally found it on the first floor after a few more minutes of wandering, and immediately began to look around at the titles of the books. He pulled a few books off of the shelves that caught his interest and settled in on the long sofa. He had brought a notebook in case he wanted to write anything down and quickly began filling up the pages with new spells and their counters, how to use them effectively etc. Before he knew it the grandfather clock in the back of the library struck seven am, and he decided it was time to leave the musty smelling library.

He was in the process of putting the books he had borrowed back where they belonged when he heard someone else walk into the library. He turned around and was unsurprised to see that it was Hermione and that she didn't seem to notice him. She walked to a certain area of the library and began browsing through the books much like he had earlier. He decided to make his presence known. "Hey Hermione, how was your night."

She jumped up and held a hand to her chest "Harry Potter! How dare you sneak up on me like that?" She was breathing heavily and her face was pale.

"Sorry Hermione, I didn't mean to scare you. You didn't notice me when you walked in so I thought I'd say hey." He said, though he was biting back a laugh at her reaction knowing it would annoy her if he did.

"Oh, I'm sorry for not noticing you, nobody but me has been frequenting the library since I got here and I didn't expect anyone this early. That's why I was so scared when I heard a voice behind me." She said laughing "So what were you doing in here anyway? Especially this early in the morning."

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to do a little bit of studying, but I was just on my way out. I'll see you later, yeah?" He said making his way to the door.

"Harry, wait!" she yelled after him. He turned around and gave her a questioning look silently motioning for her to continue. "It's just that last night when you got here, you seemed quite distant with me and I was wondering why that was. Did I do something to upset you?" she asked quite bluntly, but he noticed there was some worry on her face. This was one thing Harry had always admired about Hermione, her ability to get straight to the point and ask or say what was on her mind even if she feared the answer.

"I'm not gonna lie when I saw you yesterday I was quite annoyed with you due to the lack of information you've been giving me over the past weeks in your letters." Hermione started to protest, but he held up a hand to silence her. "I know it's not your fault and you were just following orders, but even though I probably wouldn't have done the same I can see where you were coming from, so I'm over it. Don't even worry about it." He told her genuinely.

Hermione ran to him and gave him another hug like the one from last night and this time he let her hold him to her heart's content. She finally broke the hug and smiled up at him. "When did you become so mature?" She asked teasingly. "I thought that might be the reason you were upset, and to be honest I didn't expect you to get over it so quickly." She said.

He smiled down at her and thanked her, "I figured that having my friend by my side was more important than some stupid argument." She beamed up at him and gave him one last hug.

"Okay Harry I'll see you at breakfast normally Mrs. Weasley serves it at around eight, but usually not everyone is there until about eight fifteen."

"Thanks for letting me know. I'll see you later" He went back to his room and decided he could spend the remaining time before breakfast trying to get a start on his essay for Snape. He had most of his homework done already, except for potions and history. He figured he may as well start now as he would have to do it eventually and while potions was quite difficult it wasn't as mind numbingly boring as history. So, with a fresh piece of parchment and a self-inking quill that he received as a gift from Hermione last year, he set to work.

* * *

Daphne woke up at just after noon. She got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom inside of her room. She had decided earlier during her summer break that, besides her family, what she missed most during her time at Hogwarts was her own private bathroom. The public bathrooms at school were okay for the basic necessities like washing herself and getting ready, but her bathroom at home was on an entirely different level. She left all of her things wherever she pleased and didn't have to worry about anyone taking them or messing with them (that was a lesson they all learned quickly after Millicent took a shower and had her hair turn Weasley orange for a day). The other thing that made her bathroom so much better than the Slytherin ones at school was the fact that she had a gigantic bathtub that was equipped with all sorts of salts and foams that she could use whenever she wanted to.

She knew the prefects had privileges to use the prefects bath, which she had heard were quite luxurious, and she was holding out hope that when she got her annual letter from Hogwarts a prefect badge would accompany it. However, she knew that her head of house and Draco Malfoy's father were good friends, and for that reason alone Draco would surely be selected as a prefect. It was also for that reason that she wouldn't be surprised if Pansy, who was Draco's betrothed, was picked despite her marks being mediocre at best and her tendency to get points taken away for bullying. She laughed a bit to herself thinking that she sounded like a Gryffindor complaining about the unfairness that would most likely take place.

Snapping out of the tangent she had accidentally gone off on, she decided she would take a bath tonight, because she needed to get as many as she could before once again being stuck with the cold showers in the Slytherin bathrooms. For now however, she grabbed her brush off the counter and ran it through her hair brushing out all the tangles that were accompanied with a long period of sleeping. After brushing her teeth and washing her face she wandered back into her room and threw on a weird sister's t shirt and the most comfortable pair of sweatpants she could find. Deciding that she was ready she began heading down stairs for a very late breakfast.

Because it was half past noon she knew that her father would be at work for a while longer, and her mother had mentioned doing some clothes shopping the other day. Daphne and Astoria were invited to join, and from the lack of noise in the house she assumed that Astoria had taken her up on it. Daphne on the other hand would much rather sleep late then go shopping. It wasn't that she didn't like shopping mind you, she just liked sleeping even more.

"Missy?"

Daphne's call was accompanied with an instantaneous pop. "Yes mistress Daphne, how may Missy be helping you?" replied a squeaky voice that belonged to the Greengrass house elf.

"I've only just woken up and was wondering if there were some leftovers from this morning's breakfast?"

"Oh no Mistress, you must not be eating the leftovers. Missy will be preparing you something fresh." and with that the little elf popped away, presumably to make Daphne more food than she could ever dream of finishing.

Daphne sat down at the table, and began to think about what she should do today. She knew that in the few weeks since school had let out that she had managed to work a bit on her tan by laying out in the back besides the pool with a book in hand, but she had been lazy enough today and she thought she should work on something productive. Her homework wasn't quite done yet so she could work at it for a few hours and she might be able to knock out another one of her subjects, maybe Defense? No, that was something she would rather save for later.

She pondered a bit longer and then remembered the conversation her family had from the other night stemming from the owl that had interrupted them during dinner. She was curious as to why Potter was being treated the way he was, so she decided to look through her father's library for a book on law and see what that was all about. She had always had a passion for law, and though she never told anyone before, she would love to work as a solicitor some day. Also the fact that Potter was involved intrigued her, probably more than it should have if she were being honest with herself.

She had always thought the boy wasn't very good at magic as he seemed to earn poor marks in his classes, yet last year during the tournament he was performing magic on a similar scale to the other three older champions, sometimes even outperforming them. She had thought that he wasn't very smart as Granger was always helping him and Weasley, but now that she thought on it more, he was usually in the top three when it came to mastering a new spell. The fact that he also had sprung up a few inches in the last year, and that he looked pretty good without a shirt (most of the fourth years in their transfiguration class knew this courtesy of a timed prank from the Weasleys.) made him even more interesting.

Before she could think too much further on the topic, the table in front of her filled up with enough food to feed a family. After she thanked Missy she began to dig in and thought about maybe jogging later so she wouldn't gain too much weight from the delicious cooking. On second thought, she'd rather read up and learn more about Potter's trial, it would certainly be more fun than jogging.

* * *

Harry was walking downstairs towards the kitchen with Ron and Hermione. They had just been cleaning in the Master Bedroom when a red-faced Mrs. Weasley sent them down to have a snack. "I will never understand why the hell the Blacks own some of the stuff they do." Said Ron "I mean while we were cleaning through the master bedroom we found all these cuffs and whips and stuff. Why would they keep that stuff in there? I suppose it doesn't matter in the end, mom said she would finish that room off."

Harry saw Hermione beginning to turn red and tried his best to contain the laughter that was threatening to escape him. Ron had an absolutely hilarious confused face on as he tried to figure out what the whips and cuffs were for, but before anyone could add anything to the conversation the front door opened and closed loudly. Immediately a horrible screaming could be heard. "Oh look who it is! The disappointment! Did you bring any more of those filthy little freaks to further soil the house of the Blacks?!"

"What the hell is that?" asked Harry.

"That would be a portrait of Sirius' mum she wakes up if you make enough noise and starts to spout off rubbish about half-breeds and mudbloods." Hermione answered. Harry was just starting to ask another question when another yell interrupted him.

"I sure did you old hag, they're all waiting outside to meet you. The centaur and the goblin seemed especially eager to talk to you." Harry recognized the voice immediately and began running towards the entrance of the house. Ron and Hermione went to the kitchen to allow Harry a moment of privacy with his godfather. Sirius saw him coming and quickly asked Harry for some help. "You grab that end of the curtain and let's get this old bat to shut up."

Despite Mrs. Blacks protests Harry and Sirius managed to close the curtain and immediately the painting stopped yelling. After he was sure the curtain wouldn't open anymore he lunged forward and gave Sirius a hug. "Oof, hey pup I missed you too how have you been?"

"Alright I suppose, we were just cleaning some rooms upstairs, how have you been? You definitely look better than the last time I saw you."

"I was just doing something for Dumbledore that we can talk about later. I look better because I managed to get my hands on some potions that helped with the malnourishment that I had from my days in Azkaban. Enough about me though, want to tell me why you have a court date at the ministry in a few weeks?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"There were Dementors in Little Whinging, they attacked me and Dudley so I used a patronus to drive them away. They threatened to expel me and snap my wand, but Dumbledore made them knock it down to a trial so I could share my side of the story. Where have you been?"

"I'll tell you later Harry. The two of us need to have a discussion with Dumbledore tonight to sort out some things, but first I need some food. Care to join me for a late lunch?" Harry thought that Sirius looked a little upset at the mention of Dumbledore, but decided he could wait until tonight to figure out what it was all about.

"Sure, Ron and Hermione are probably waiting for us in the kitchen anyways, and there's some leftover sandwiches Mrs. Weasley made in there."

"Perfect let's go eat, I'm starving." As if to prove his point his stomach let out a loud growl. They made their way into the kitchen and Sirius was greeted with another hug, this one from Hermione, and a somewhat awkward handshake from Ron. "So how has everything been since I left?" This question was directed at Ron and Hermione.

"Not too bad. Besides Harry showing up yesterday it's been somewhat boring lately. No one from the Order has stopped by." said Hermione.

"Yeah and mums been forcing us to clean nonstop." added Ron.

Sirius laughed through the food in his mouth before swallowing it. "Yeah, this place is a mess. I didn't even consider visiting here until Dumbledore suggested we could use it for the order. When he first told me his idea I immediately liked it, mostly because I know my mother is probably turning in her grave at the thought of this place being used to fight against blood purists."

"Speaking of the order," Harry segued smoothly "what exactly do they do? Dumbledore said that you guys fight against Voldemort, but what exactly are you guys doing?"

"Well as of right now it's just recruitment." Sirius answered "We're out there subtly asking people what they think, trying to feel out who would be willing to join us, and who would be willing to support us. That's actually what I was doing for Dumbledore, trying to see if some of the people who helped me when I was in France would be interested."

Harry thought that made sense and nodded his acceptance at Sirius. "Well we better get back to cleaning." he said standing up. "The sooner we finish the sooner we can do what we want, and with Sirius able to do magic we can finish in no time." Harry said while shooting Sirius a hopeful expression.

"Alright then let's go" Sighed Sirius. All three of the teenagers cheered a bit and set off to finish their chores.

That night at dinner Molly made sure they ate quickly and went upstairs before any of the order members arrived. She was adamant that they were not allowed to stay during the meeting. Harry would have protested, but Sirius insisted that they weren't discussing anything extremely important at this point, and if something important did come up he would let him know right away.

Hermione was looking over Harry's potions assignment and revising it for him, while he and Ron were playing a game of exploding snap. Just as Harry had lost again Ron spoke up. "You know Harry, the twins have created these really cool things called extendable ears. We could use them to listen in on the meetings if we really wanted to."

Harry shrugged "Sirius said that they haven't been talking about anything important, but that he'd let me know if they did. I say we just wait for him to tell us rather than risk being caught." Ron looked disappointed that Harry didn't want to go eavesdropping, but agreed that they should hold off on using the extendable ears unless they really needed to.

Eventually they could hear voices meaning that the silencing spells had been taken down which signified the meeting was over. They waited a few minutes for most of the people to clear out before heading down the stairs. As they entered the kitchen, which was where the meeting was held, they noticed that there were still a few people left, but not many. One of those people was Severus Snape who sneered at the three of them before leaving the room and presumably the house.

Harry walked up to his godfather who was talking with a pretty girl who looked to be in her late teens or early twenties with pink hair. She was waving her hands animatedly and when she finished her story she let out a laugh that sounded very familiar. Sirius turned around and noticed his godson and quickly introduced the two. "Harry this is Tonks my wonderful cousin twice removed, she has a first name but she told me if I ever say it again she will castrate me. Tonks this is Harry Potter my godson."

Tonks gave him an exaggerated once over before looking at him with a devilish smile and winking. "It's a pleasure to meet you sexy. I'd _love_ to get to know you better." she said while licking her lips. Harry went bright red and before he could even try to stammer out a response she began laughing at him. "Calm down Harry, I was just taking the piss. I like making boys blush." She said with another wink that caused Harry to turn even redder.

"Well you're definitely very good at it, it's a pleasure to meet you." Harry replied.

Tonks looked pleasantly surprised. "It took the twins a few days before they could talk to me and Ronald still won't look in me in the eyes." She laughed "Good on you mate, for being able to take a joke." They talked for a little while longer during which time Harry learned that Tonks was a metamorphmagus and could change her appearance at will. He spent some time talking to her about that until she said that she had to go as she had work in the morning and it was getting late. This of course caused Harry to ask where she worked. When he found out she was an auror he was even more intrigued, and made her promise that they would talk again later which she agreed to instantly having taken a liking to Harry.

After Tonks left Harry was about to head towards Ron and Hermione who seemed to be having a discussion with Bill, when he noticed Sirius waving him over. "We need to have that talk with Dumbledore now, come on."

They made their way towards Dumbledore and when they reached him Sirius asked for a word in private. Dumbledore led them to another room and immediately placed some silencing charms on the door. "What can I do for you two?" Dumbledore asked happily.

Harry just looked at Sirius as he had no idea what this was all about. "On my way back to England I made a stop by Godric's Hollow, I needed to see it for myself." Sirius started, and Dumbledore gave a nod encouraging him to continue. "While I was there I found a letter in a hollow floorboard James had shown me when he first moved in. He said that he would leave stuff in there in case I ever needed help.

"In this letter, James writes why Voldemort was coming after Harry, but didn't want to write the exact wording because he was afraid it could fall into the wrong hands. He said if I wanted to hear it in its entirety to ask you. I figured Harry deserved to know why as well. Why he was a target, why his parents were murdered."

Harry was about as confused as one person could possibly be. "What are you talking about? He asked showing his confusion.

Dumbledore sighed. "Harry do you know what a prophecy is?" when Harry shook his head to indicate that he didn't Dumbledore went on to explain it to him.

"So what you're saying is that there's a prophecy that had to do with me? And that's why my parents were killed?"

"What I'm saying is that there still is a prophecy that still has something to do with you. I would have told you about this sooner, but I wanted to let you live as a normal child without the fear of a prophecy hanging over your head."

"Well what was it?" Harry asked impatiently. He was upset that the headmaster had been hiding this for so long and really wanted to know what it was that had eventually led to the sentencing of his parents and himself to be killed by a psychotic mass murderer.

"I'm afraid that I cannot tell you that." Harry began to protest, but was quickly quieted when Dumbledore gave him a look that showed he wasn't budging. "I would like to tell you, but I fear with the link that you and the dark lord share, he will try to pluck it out of your mind. It would make me feel much better if you learned the art of occlumency which is a way to protect one's mind."

"I hate to admit it kid, but Albus is right. I could start teaching you occlumency while you're here with me, and you could finish up with the headmaster once you get to school. At that point you will let him know the prophecy won't you headmaster?" Sirius asked in a somewhat dangerous tone.

"That sounds fine to me." Dumbledore agreed amicably, "I will let you know the prophecy when your occlumency is up to a high enough standard, is that alright Harry?" Harry nodded and Dumbledore continued. "I would advise you to not tell too many people about this Harry. I believe that Voldemort is trying to find a way now to figure out what the prophecy is, and it would be a shame if someone who shouldn't hear about this did, and were to report it back to him."

Harry nodded his understanding, he immediately recognized who Dumbledore was talking about. "I agree sir. Thank you for letting me know all of this."

"The reality is that I should have told you sooner, but like I said I didn't want you to worry, I wanted for you to have as normal a life as possible."

"It's alright sir I know you were just trying to help. If you'll excuse me I think I'm going to go to bed. This is a lot to digest."

He began to make his way out of the room when Dumbledore called his name. He turned around and looked at the headmaster expectantly. "Minerva has put your name up for her prefect selection, I want to know if you would be willing to do it or if you would rather not have that responsibility bestowed upon you."

"Sir I'd be honored to be made a prefect, but if I could just suggest one thing. Draco had been bragging all of last year that he will be a prefect because of his father's influence, but Draco is a bully and he doesn't deserve the honor. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it would help if the position were based off merit and not standing or popularity. So, if there is someone more deserving of the position than I am then give it to them, and likewise if there is someone more deserving than Draco make sure they get it."

Dumbledore looked impressed by what he had just said and gave Harry a small smile. "I assure you Harry that you are definitely the most deserving amongst your classmates, but what you said has merit. I will be discussing some of the other picks with their heads of house and I will determine whether or not they are the right choice. Thank you Harry, have a good night." By the time he had finished talking he had a ridiculous twinkle in his eye and a proud look on his face.

"Good night pup." Sirius said with a smile. Harry mumbled a response and headed off to bed. Sirius turned towards Dumbledore and let out a long sigh. "You know even though he's the spitting image of James he acts so much like Lily."

"Yes I can't help but agree. Those two were a frightening duo and now we have the living embodiment of that duo growing right in front of our eyes."

"Yeah it's a shame James and Lily don't get to see him, he's a special kid." Sirius said with a sad look on his face. "Well Albus, I'll see you later, it really was a long journey, and I could use some shut eye."

"Yes of course, bear in mind that I would like to discuss how your trip went at your earliest convenience. I hope you have a good night."

"You too Albus." and with that Sirius headed out the door leaving Dumbledore to contemplate this turn of events. He had been hoping to wait a bit longer before letting Harry know about the prophecy, but now that he did know Albus felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. The boy had been maturing, as shown by his willingness to give up the prefect position, and Albus was happy to see his transformation into a kind hearted young man. It saddened him to think that Lily and James missed out on raising him. He promised himself that he would do his best to end it more quickly this time, before more innocent lives were lost.

A/N: Hey everyone, if this story looks familiar it's because I've posted it once before, but due to circumstances out of my control I didn't have the time I needed to continue working on it. Now, I've just ended my second year of university and should be able to devote more time to this fic. I've got a basic outline of the fic in my head, but feel free to leave suggestions. Next update should be out fairly soon as I'm excited about picking this up again.

A/N 2: There are a few minor changes in the story, nothing major just some mistakes in spelling and grammar. I do not have a beta so please be kind in pointing out any flaws or errors you may see, and if you do catch something by all means let me know and I'll get it fixed. Until next time!

*Quote taken directly from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry woke up the morning of August 12th before the sun had even come up. He'd been so nervous about the upcoming trial that try as he might, he just couldn't enter a restful slumber. At 4:30 in the morning he gave up trying and decided to start his day.

He got out of bed quietly, doing his best not to disturb the sleep of others in the house and made his way out to the hallway. He quickly walked over to the bathroom where he preceded to take a quick shower and complete his morning ritual. Once he finished he quietly tiptoed to the library deciding to see if he could find any books he had yet to read regarding trials before the Wizengamot for some last-minute prep work. He found an old tome talking about the trial of some ancient ancestor of the Blacks and began to flip through it.

He had done quite a bit of research in the past few weeks with the help of Sirius and Hermione, so he could better understand what he was facing. No more going in blind he'd decided. But, no matter how hard he tried, his brain was just too restless to let him focus on anything currently. After a few more minutes of staring at the same page and comprehending nothing, he gave it up as a lost cause and instead began to reflect on the prior few weeks since he had arrived at Grimmauld Place.

Hermione had very quickly made sure to help him edit his homework, and thanks to her he was certain he would do well on the assignments they had been given over their reprieve from school. She had even convinced Ron to start on it, and although he grumbled and complained all the while, he was also making steady progress.

Harry had also gotten in touch with Professor McGonagall, and let her know of his intention to drop divination and pick up ancient runes. She had been surprised when he informed her of his change of heart and let him know that he would have to pass an entry exam once back at school, but if he did, she would gladly allow the switch to happen.

Naturally Hermione had taken it upon herself to help him prepare, letting him look over her meticulous notes and helping him with what he didn't understand. He was nearly certain that the reason Hermione was stepping up so much all the sudden was due to lingering guilt she felt from leaving him in the dark earlier on in the summer, and even though he had told her all was forgiven multiple times, she still insisted.

Besides school work, Harry was doing his best to just have fun. They all still had to clean the house, but when they were finished with their assigned tasks they would all hang out together and laugh for hours on end. He had also been sure to spend as much time as possible with Sirius and soak up all the information Sirius so freely offered concerning his parents. Harry was beginning to feel like just maybe he was starting to really know them, even though he couldn't remember them.

He had also had a short meeting with George and Fred where, to Harry's vast amusement, they seemed to be very serious and professional. They showed him what they'd been working on and Harry was truly impressed. He was certain that most of their original inventions would sell out in no time, and they even showed him some handy things they were working on specifically for protection against Voldemort. Harry let them know that he was on board with everything that they were doing, and made sure to let them know that if they needed more money he would gladly provide it until their products began to turn a profit.

Lastly, and if Dumbledore was to be believed most importantly, he had started his occlumency lessons with Sirius. They hadn't progressed very far yet, Harry was learning to organize his thoughts and control his emotions. Sirius had kindly given him some reading material which contained exercises that helped him to clear his mind, and once again Hermione made it her personal mission to work with Harry and help him. It had helped that his best friend was also intrigued and wanted to learn the practice herself.

All in all, Harry had been enjoying his time at Grimmauld doing his best to ignore the trial that hung over his head like a dark cloud on the horizon. However, the storm had arrived and right now he was trying to do his best to weather it.

Suddenly Harry heard the front door open and close quietly. He glanced at his wrist watch and saw that the time was half past six. Curious as to who would be arriving at such an early hour he stepped out of the library to investigate. He relaxed when he saw none other than Albus Dumbledore wearing a garish pair of light blue robes covered in moons and stars standing in the front hall quietly observing the portraits which hung on the wall with interest. Without turning around, he greeted Harry "Good morning Harry, trouble sleeping?" he asked in a conversational manner.

"Yes sir, I couldn't stop thinking about the trial." He answered honestly. After a brief pause he continued in a questioning tone of voice "Sir I thought you'd be here a bit later seeing as the trial isn't for a few more hours yet?"

Dumbledore straightened and turned around to fully face Harry. He had a hard look in his eyes, as though there was something that was upsetting him, and was about to share it with Harry. "I wouldn't put it past the minister to try some sort of trickery, and I decided it would be best to be well prepared. Even if he doesn't Molly is an excellent cook and you are quite pleasant company and I wouldn't mind wasting a few hours away together if you don't." He finished his eyes finding their way back to their customary twinkle.

"Not at all sir, I believe I hear Molly in the kitchen right now. Perhaps we could help her set everything up." Harry replied.

"An excellent idea, after you Harry." They both walked into the kitchen and wished Molly a good morning. Dumbledore set the table with a wave of his wand and the three held light conversation as Molly finished up breakfast. One by one the others slowly tumbled in after waking up to the delicious aroma that was wafting through the air.

They had just sat down and had hardly began to eat when a ministry owl flew into the dining room through an open window and stopped in front of Harry holding out its leg. Harry quickly unfurled the parchment and once he had read it over he handed it to Dumbledore to feeling slightly annoyed with the ministry for trying to do what they could to make him look bad.

Molly was the first person to ask what the letter was about, and Dumbledore was quick to inform her. "It seems as though the ministry has decided to push Harrys trial forward 2 hours. That means we have to be there in ten minutes." He said in a calm serious voice. "Thank you for the marvelous meal Molly, I truly apologize we could not stick around longer, but alas duty calls. Harry, you and I must leave now, Arthur will we be seeing you there?"

"Yes you will, Hermione asked if she could tag along and Ron as well, would that be alright?" The kind man responded.

Harry was quietly thankful for the support he was receiving from his two best friends, and he eagerly awaited Dumbledore's response. "Yes, that should be fine as it is a trial open to the public, and once this farce of a trial is over I would love to take everyone on a quick trip so we can celebrate." He said, "I think some ice cream might be in order, if that's all right with you three of course?"

Once they had all responded affirmatively, Dumbledore stood and beckoned for Harry to follow. After they had made their way outside, Dumbledore informed Harry of a stop they would have to make as they needed to pick someone up. Once Ms. Figg was with them they apparated directly into the ministry, something Harry had thought was impossible, and they quickly began making their way down to the courtroom. Dumbledore's optimistic attitude had Harry feeling optimistically confident and hopeful that this would end well.

* * *

Daphne was quite annoyed. Her father had woken her up an hour earlier than she was expecting and had told her that if they wanted to get to the trial on time she would have to get ready in the next few minutes. This presented a problem as Daphne liked to look her best when it came to public outings, but she couldn't do that if she only had five minutes to get dressed.

Due to the time constraints she couldn't even dwell on it and be properly upset, instead she took a quick shower and brushed her teeth for a considerably shorter time than she would have liked. Her hair was already nearly completely dry (magic was such a wonderful thing), and because she didn't have time to do anything with it, she let it naturally fall into its princess curls. Grabbing clean underwear, a pair of dark jeans, and a dark green sweater, she quickly dressed herself and ran downstairs.

Once she arrived in the living room she could see her father dressed in his official house robes waiting patiently next to the floo. "Ready to go sweetheart?" he asked kindly.

"Yeah, I am" She responded out of breath. Her father nodded once and began to make his way towards the fireplace where he was preparing to grab some floo powder out of the bag they kept on the mantle. He threw the green powder into the flames and beckoned for her to go first. With a shout of 'Ministry of Magic' and a flash of color she was gone only to appear moments later at the public ministry floo reception.

Quickly she moved out of the way and her father who had been following her, also stepped through. They began to make their way through the atrium of the ministry heading for the lifts. A short while later when they were halfway towards the lifts Daphne decided to voice a suspicion she had "Daddy?" she asked.

"Yes baby." He replied kindly, looking at her to show she had his full attention even as they continued their walk.

"Why the sudden time change? Do you think they're trying to purposefully sabotage him?" She asked quietly so that no one could hear what they were discussing. The ministry was full of lackeys just waiting to report to whoever it was that cared about trivial things like a conversation that might make the ministry sound bad.

"That had been what I thought when I first received the letter as well, but who knows, maybe they just had a scheduling error or something else came up." He responded, though his voice sounded doubtful.

Daphne nodded and they finished the rest of their walk towards the lift in relative silence. After they had gotten in with a handful of people who also seemed to be heading to the trial, they made their way down and found the courtroom easily enough. However, once they entered her father got a rather annoyed look in his eyes and seemed to be suppressing anger. Daphne was also starting to get angry, in the countless books she'd read on wizarding law, many of them discussed this very courtroom which happened to be where the worst of people were tried.

The death eaters were prosecuted here, along with murderers, rapists, and the most despicable criminals. Now they were trying to send a message to the world. Harry Potter should be grouped with the others, a violent and vile criminal. They didn't have time to dwell on this however, as shortly after they had walked in Harry and Dumbledore entered the courtroom simultaneously waking next to one another. Her father bid her farewell to take his seat amongst the Wizengamot as she settled into the guest area.

Daphne watched Harry as he made his way down to the defense section and noticed that he looked different. He had certainly grown taller since the school year ended not too long ago, easily half a head taller than her now. She also noted that for the first time ever he didn't look terribly skinny. Even through his robes she could see that the muscles in his arms had begun to form and his upper body had begun to bulk up a bit. He was by no means an extremely muscular man, but he had begun to develop quite a nice physique.

However, what stood out most to her was the confidence he now carried himself with. Ever since she had saw him for the first time in their first year he had always walked around with his head down and eyes averted making him look timid and afraid. When he walked into the courtroom however, he did so with his back straight and head held high. This coupled with his elegant house Potter robes and he looked powerful, and if Daphne were being honest with herself, pretty damn sexy.

Not long after they had seated themselves Minister Fudge entered the room and quickly ordered that Harry be bound to the defense chair. The aurors guarding him looked hesitant to do so and traded nervous glances with each other. Dumbledore looked livid at the request also, but before he could say anything Madame Bones beat him to it. "Stand down there will be no binding. The young man is just 15 years old and the last time I checked minister," she said now directing her ire towards the portly Minister of Magic, "I was presiding over this court not you."

Fudge turned red in anger or embarrassment at being spoken to like that, or maybe a combination of the two, but he wisely kept quiet and took a seat. One of his lackeys however wasn't as smart it seemed. "How dare you speak to the minister that way! He can do whatever he likes and if he wants the brat bound then he should be bound!" Screeched the women that looked like a toad dressed in all pink with a ridiculously annoying voice.

Amelia was not having any of it however, "Undersecretary Umbridge, should you speak out of turn again I will personally bind _you_ and have you arrested for disrupting a trial. Do I make myself clear?" After she received a terse nod of the head from the toad looking lady Amelia continued. "Very well then. As everyone is present let us begin. *This disciplinary hearing on the 12th of August into offenses committed under the decree for the reasonable restriction of underage sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.

Interrogators Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, head of DMLE. Court scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley-"

"Witness for the defense Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore"* Dumbledore broke in quietly.

Amelia nodded to show her consent and continued "Harry James Potter, you are found guilty of performing magic in a muggle neighborhood in front of muggles. This violates the statute of secrecy and also restriction of underage magic. What do you have to say in your defense?"

Daphne watched as Harry looked over to Dumbledore who gave a slight nod in return, and that was all the encouragement he needed. Harry began to tell his story, and it was clear that the entire Wizengamot was riveted by his tale. When he reached the part about the temperature dropping and the feeling of dread washing over him Daphne and the majority of others knew what was coming next, but when he actually mentioned the dementors and how he had fought them off using a patronus charm which he'd learned at 13, a loud uproar began in the courtroom.

Fudge was screaming about the impossibility of a 15 year old casting such a difficult charm let alone a 13 year old knowing how to, and the others were torn between being equally upset or awed. Harry calmly sat through the surge of noise and waited for the room to calm. After Amelia banged the gavel a few times the room finally quieted. "Obviously, there are a few doubts concerning your claim. Would you be willing to try to conjure a patronus now to prove whether or not you actually can perform this level of magic?" She asked not unkindly.

Daphne saw the Minister and his undersecretary share a look of smug superiority and laughed quietly to herself. Everyone at Hogwarts knew that Harry had been able to cast his patronus since the quidditch match when he scared Draco and his goons so badly they had wet themselves. She saw Harry stand up and draw his wand from a wrist holster underneath the sleeve of his robes. With a clearly stated "Expecto Patronum!" a white stag leapt from his wand it walked around the front of the courtroom and looked at everyone in turn. Seeing no immediate threat the white vapor dissipated into the wind before fading completely.

This time the entirety of the hall fell into a shocked silence. Daphne especially liked the way that the minister sputtered as he tried to make sense of what had happened. Finally, he regained enough of his wit to shout out, "The level of magic which he cast doesn't matter! He still cast the charm whilst underage and in front of muggles!"

Daphne could hear some muttering of approval from a few people, but most were still shell-shocked over the casual display of immense power from the teenage boy. At this point Dumbledore picked up the tale. Now that the use of magic was deemed appropriate Dumbledore was left with proving the charm wasn't performed in front of any ordinary muggles, and made sure to state that even if it had been, Harry was still justified in his actions. The Final nail in the coffin was when a squib who had apparently been present during the incident was called to testify. She praised Harry for saving lives and called him a hero.

When it came time to vote on a verdict Harry was set free acquitted of all charges via a vast majority vote from the Wizengamot, and Fudge was even further humiliated when Dumbledore pointed out that dementors should be under ministry control. He said it in a way that didn't accuse anyone of anything, but insinuated that this was either due to lack of competence from the ministry or them losing control over the dark beasts. Daphne was impressed, the old man really did know how to play to a crowd, and Daphne was sure by tomorrow morning the major news outlets would be discussing whether or not the ministry could control the vile creatures for any longer.

The room began to clear quite quickly after that and Daphne waited for her father who was discussing with Samuel Davis, the father of her best friend Tracey, in the reserved area for Wizengamot members. After a few minutes, he wrapped up his conversation and approached his daughter. When he reached her, he let her know that her presence had been requested at the Davis manor in the form of an invitation to a sleepover. Daphne laughed at the formal way he put it and quickly agreed making a mental note to floo call Tracey later and set up a date. It had been much too long since their last girl night.

Once they had exited the chamber Daphne looked back to tell her father something and didn't realize she was walking into someone until she hit a solid chest that nearly sent her spiraling to the floor. Lucky for her, or unlucky for her she hadn't decided yet, two strong arms reached out and steadied her, and attached to those arms was none other than Harry Potter himself.

"Sorry, my fault, I should've been watching where I was going. Greengrass right?" Harry said quietly looking quite embarrassed for nearly knocking her over. After a moment he realized he still had a grip on her and let go as he flushed even deeper.

"Really it's no problem, that was just as much my fault as it was yours. And yes, I am Greengrass but you could call me Daphne if you like." She said. It took a half a second for her to realize how corny that sounded and then she joined Harry in blushing as bright as a tomato, but she powered through and continued, "Congratulations on your win earlier Potter, that case they were trying to present against you was a load of hippogriff shit."

Harry Chuckled at her statement. "Thank you, Daphne, and please call me Harry." He replied. He appeared to genuinely appreciate her support, but after a moment he glanced behind her, nodding at someone in that direction, and ended the conversation "Sorry to cut this short, but I really must be going. It was nice to see you." He said politely.

She answered back with a farewell of her own and a see you at school. She followed him with her eyes after he had left, and watched him make his way towards Weasley and Granger. She then turned back towards her father to catch him looking at her with the slightest smirk on his face. She could see that he was ready to give some snarky and completely inappropriate remark, but she merely glared at him and with a muttered, "Not a word" she led the way up towards the lift. Her father acquiesced her request and let the walk go by in silence, but his eyes betrayed him the entire while, letting on just how amusing he found the brief interaction between the two classmates.

When they got to the floo's Daphne once again went first, and when both father and daughter returned to her living room he looked at her and started talking conversationally "So Harry Potter has been cleared of all charges. The young man can cast a patronus too, takes quite a bit of power that. He even catches young girls who nearly fall and embarrass themselves in public." He said. Daphne kept her face blank not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her embarrassed. "He's a pretty handsome fellow too, tall and-"

"Dad! Oh my god shut up!" she screamed, her stoic mask finally breaking into a look of mortification to her fathers amusement. She sent him one last glare before heading to her room. No way was she going to let her father continue to tease her, which she knew he would continue to do. Besides she missed an hour of sleep this morning, and now she was going to get it back dammit. As she walked away the last thing she heard was her father's distant chuckling.

* * *

Molly had decided that after all the excitement of the trial, and because they were working hard every day to renovate the old house they were living in, that they could have a lie in the following day which Harry took full advantage of. With the stress of the trial finally off his back Harry had his first restful sleep in weeks. He woke up after ten, and spent the entirety of the day lounging and reading with Hermione. He was nearly completely caught up in runes and he wanted to finish as soon as possible so he could begin reviewing the important subject matter which Hermione thought he would be tested on in his entry exam.

The relaxation however had come and gone, and now nearly a week later they were back into their daily routines. However, as they all settled at the kitchen table that morning their routine was disrupted by six large Hogwarts owls swooping into the kitchen one after another. After the mail had been checked and deemed safe the students in the room grabbed the envelopes addressed to each of them specifically. The owls, having done their jobs, promptly flew out of the window where they would presumably head back towards Scotland and Hogwarts.

Harry opened his letter and began to sift through the stacks of paper that were inside his envelope. He found his customary book list and his list of needed materials, happily noting that there was a book on ancient runes in his book list, and even better still, no book filled with the mumbo jumbo that is divination. After he sorted through all the ordinary papers he saw that his envelope had one other thing in it. Pulling out the last piece of parchment folded neatly at the bottom, he unfolded it quickly and found a hand-written note from Professor McGonagall along with a gold 'P' pin. Clutching the pin in his hand he began to read the letter.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I hope this letter finds you well. It is with great pleasure that I would like to request of you to take the role of male prefect for this upcoming year. You have proven yourself time and time again as a trustworthy and fair individual, and I could not think of someone more suited for this position than you. Do keep in mind that this position will require you to put extra time into patrolling the school and helping others, and doubled with your OWL exams this year you could find yourself stressed. However, having said that if anyone could handle this stress, it would be you, especially if you could convince your fellow prefect to help you in this regard. Do keep in mind also that this position would allow you to take and give points, and assign detentions. Should this power be abused I would be very upset and would revoke your prefecture immediately. I have a feeling though, that you will make me proud._

 _With warmest regards,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

Harry fingered the pin and looked over at Hermione who he was sure would be made female prefect. In her hand, he saw that she also held a gold 'P' and was reading over her own letter. Once she had finished she looked up quickly eyes immediately searching for Harry. When she finally saw him she shot him an inquisitive look and he responded by holding his pin up for her to see. With a bright smile and a squeal, she rushed over to him jumping into his waiting arms and squeezing him so tightly she knocked the air out of his lungs.

The others looked up to see what all the commotion was about, and Hermione got out of Harrys arms. Turning towards the other she proudly exclaimed "Harry and I have been made prefects for Gryffindor!" Harry saw that the others were genuinely happy for him and Hermione and so he began to let his own excitement show.

"Of course it would be the two of you, there's no one more deserving." Ron said with a smile and a clap on Harry's shoulder.

Harry replied with a modest "thanks mate." As he ducked his head. He had never been one to appreciate praise. He had of course already known that he would most likely be made a prefect after his conversation with Dumbledore, but to have it affirmed had felt rather nice as well. He swore to himself right there that he wouldn't abuse his power, and do his best to make sure that he was fair to all students regardless of house or what their parents may have done in the past.

Molly quickly soon after insisted that they should celebrate, and had gotten to work setting up a nice little party for the afternoon, muttering to herself about what ingredients she would need for a cake. Harry had been quick to offer her his help, but she insisted that he go with the others and celebrate.

After making sure she didn't need his help he left her when promised she would let him know if she did at some point need him for anything, and he headed upstairs to the living room where everyone was settling in and discussing. The twins were giving him some good-natured ribbing at being made prefect and Ron was talking about how he could use his station to assign Malfoy detentions with Filch. Hermione had been quick to tell him that they would not abuse their power that way and Harry had broken up the oncoming row by saying that if the git deserved detention, and only if he deserved detention Harry would happily assign it, appeasing both of them.

Hermione then mentioned that it probably wouldn't matter anyways as Malfoy was sure to become prefect due to his father's close relationship to Snape. Harry told them that he wouldn't be so sure and refused to answer when they asked what he meant.

That afternoon Harry and the rest of the residents at number 12 Grimmauld Place, along with a few others including Tonks and Remus were celebrating the two students who had been made prefects. Harry was laughing at a story Moony was telling him about his own days as prefect and everything was going fine.

That thought scared Harry a bit. Usually when things were going good in his life that meant that they would suddenly get a lot worse. However, as he looked around and took in the smiling faces, he swore to himself he would do whatever it took to keep those he loved happy and safe.

Harry wasn't stupid and he knew that with Voldemort back, he would become the Dark Lord's biggest obsession and number one priority. He was resigned to the fact that he would most likely have to face the monster again at some point, and that he would probably not make it out alive, but that didn't mean that the meeting would have to be on Voldemort's terms. He was fairly certain that with enough training and a bit of luck he would be able to take Voldemort out with him.

These thoughts only strengthened what he had been feeling since the graveyard, he would have to try his hardest in his classes as to accumulate as much knowledge as possible. He might also try to convince some of his professors to begin some sort of special training focusing specifically on battle magic, and if they didn't agree he would take matters into his own hands.

One thing was for certain, Harry Potter was no longer the clueless and frightened first year that had entered the wizarding world five years ago. Now in his place stood a confident and determined Harry, ready for what he was sure would be thrown his way. He could hardly wait for the school year to begin so he could put his plans into action. With that though he turned back towards the other deciding to enjoy the rest of this summer, after all who knew how many more he had.

* * *

Daphne had woken up earlier than she would have liked this morning because Tracey had slept over and they had the entire day planned so they could make the most of their time together. These plans included of shopping for clothes for the upcoming school year -they would have gotten their books too but the lists had yet to arrive- and lounging outside next to Tracey's swimming pool, working on their tans.

Tracey had been Daphne's best friend for as long as she could remember. They had known each other since they were babies and had gone to the same tutors prior to their Hogwarts education. In fact, Tracey was the reason Daphne had chosen Slytherin over Ravenclaw when the sorting hat had told her she would do well in both.

Tracey was a bit shorter than Daphne, and a bit curvier also with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. She had a very down to earth personality if you got to know her, and could make you laugh so hard you cry. Daphne felt truly blessed to have a friend like her to go through Hogwarts with. They both protected each other's backs and helped one another with any problems they might've had in the snake pit that is Slytherin.

Currently they were sunning themselves by the pool and Tracey was talking about what boys in their year she found cute, and which ones she might consider pursuing in the following school year. So far, she had decided that Blaise Zabini was the best looking Slytherin due to the whole tall dark and handsome thing he had going, but was too much of a womanizer to merit any of her time. Daphne agreed, but didn't voice her thoughts aloud, allowing her friend to continue uninterrupted for the time being.

"Hufflepuff is lacking in cute boys, but If I had to pick one it would probably be Justin Finch-Fletchley. Now, having said that, I would never go for him, the kid oozes arrogance and is too full of himself." Tracey continued as though she were thinking aloud.

"Yeah, I've never really liked him," agreed Daphne "He walks around with a Malfoy-esque smug superiority, but doesn't have the influence or power, either politically or magically, to back it up."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Tracey "And he's not even _that_ cute. I mean he's alright looking, but he doesn't even crack top ten in our year." Daphne just hummed in agreement, which Tracey took as a cue to continue. "Ravenclaw is definitely better in terms of good looking guys, but if I had to pick one it would probably be… Michael Corner." She said after a moment of deliberation.

Daphne shook her head in response "I don't know, Corner is decent, but I would say Terry Boot is better looking. Not as stocky, and from what I've heard he's a nice enough bloke, helping younger years with homework and stuff like that."

"I'll agree to disagree, because I know you like your men wiry, but I think stocky is quite cute." Tracey said after a moment. "Now finally, we have reached Gryffindor, the cream of the crop, the best of the best when it comes to cute boys at our school."

Daphne had to agree. Gryffindor had five boys in their year and four of them were definitely top ten, maybe even all five if freckly tall gingers were your style. Firstly, there was Neville who had transformed from the fat unconfident kid they had known in first year into a more confident, except when it came to Snape and potions, and rather good looking young man. Couple that with him being the heir of a prestigious and Powerful Pureblood line and he rocketed even higher on the list.

Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas both were charming good-looking blokes, who knew how to talk to girls and compliment them, making them blush. And, if the rumors were true they were rather skilled in the art of pleasing young ladies also. However, the number one spot for Gryffindor and the entirety of not just their year, but the entire school, undoubtedly went to the bespectacled black-haired green-eyed young man named Harry Potter. He was the youngest seeker in a thousand years, roguishly good looking with a knack for getting into trouble _and_ saving people from trouble. Politically powerful with the magical skill to back it up, and that doesn't even touch the significant role he played in the downfall of the worst Dark Lord in centuries. Tall, skinny but covered in wiry muscle, famous, athletic, he was the epitome of a teenage heartthrob, and Tracey decided to not waste time listing the above-mentioned reasons.

"So," Tracey said "number one Harry Potter, obviously. Second place however, is where things get interesting. I'd put Neville there, I'd even go as far as to say that by the end of this year he takes second place overall." She finished with a firm nod of her head, and a defiant look in her eye telling Daphne to try to disagree.

Daphne did not disagree however, at least not vocally. She didn't know about second place overall, but Neville was becoming more attractive, and she was fairly certain that her brunette friend harbored a crush on the shy Gryffindor. Before she could open her mouth to reply and say so, a Large Hogwarts owl landed next to Tracey carrying the customary start of term papers in a large yellow envelope.

"Of course the owl gets here after we've done our shopping." Tracey groaned, and then after a moment looked at her friend hopefully. "We could stop by your place, pick up your list, and head back to the alley to finish our shopping today. It would save us making the trip later, and you would have more time to look over your books before the start of term you nerd." She finished with a playful smile on her face.

Daphne huffed, but agreed. "Let's get dressed and we can floo to my place and pick up my list. From there we could floo to the cauldron and get everything done. We could even take Astoria with us if she likes."

Tracey nodded in agreement and with a "sounds good, let's go." They were on their way. They arrived back to Daphne's house and sure enough they found that her envelope had been left in the container in the living room where Missy left the mail that arrived when no one was around. As Daphne plucked her envelope out of the container she saw Astoria's as well and decided to take it with her and do the shopping for her younger sister, she really did love her.

Grabbing the second envelope and setting it on the table next to hers, she went back to her own, tearing it open and sticking her hand inside the large envelope fishing through the papers when her hand came across cool metal. Confused she fingered what appeared to be a pin and pulled it out. She couldn't believe what she was holding.

"Holy shit, you've been made prefect! I wonder what Pansy did to not get it. I mean you're definitely more qualified and the most deserving person in our house, but Draco's been bragging about how he and Pansy would be prefects because of his influence with professor Snape for _years._ " Tracey exclaimed.

Daphne just stared dumbly at the pin. Tracey was right in more than one regard, she was the most qualified student in their house. She was typically second in all classes, behind only Hermione Granger, she had very few points taken away from Slytherin, and she had never served a detention in her four years at school. However, _everyone_ thought it would be Pansy and Draco. Snape had made undeserving students prefects before based off his favoritism, and Daphne couldn't fathom why he would stop all the sudden, especially when it concerned the betrothed and girlfriend of his favorite ever student and godchild. The only explanation was intervention from Dumbledore.

Daphne knew that if that was the case she would have to be careful as both Draco and Pansy would be upset with her, and she wouldn't put it past Snape to take out some ire at being vetoed by Dumbledore out on her. She didn't care however, her dream when she had first entered Hogwarts was to work hard and to be made prefect and eventually Head Girl. The first of those two had been seemingly out of grasp, but now she had been bestowed the position, and she decided that she wouldn't act the way previous prefect had acted. She would be fair and bring respect to Salazars house, doing what little she could to amend for the long history of abuse by those in power from the Slytherin house.

She knew there was a high chance that Malfoy might still be prefect, but she hoped that he had been ousted by some miracle also. If the badge were to be given to who deserved it most off merit, it would likely fall to Zabini or maybe Nott. She could live with either of those as her partner, and she knew that Zabini, a half-blood, wouldn't care to antagonize students for no reason either.

Pushing these thoughts out of her head she decided that she would play her cards as they were dealt, all she could do right now was hope for the best. With that in mind she got up and started getting ready for the shopping trip, hopefully by the time they got back her parents would be home. She had a lot to discuss with the two of them as they had both been prefects also, and if anyone could teach her to be fair and just, it was her mum and dad.

*taken directly from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

A/N: Firstly, I know this chapter was kind of fast paced, but that was on purpose as I'm just trying to get them to Hogwarts quickly (they'll be there next chapter). I took Umbridge out of the group of interrogators because I just didn't want her there… and I wanted to have Madame Bones shut her down, so win-win. Also, I know some people get upset when fanfics have Harry resigned to die, but I believe that attitude is dangerously badass, and as I'm the one writing the fic I decided to roll with it. Also, Daphne has been featuring a bit more than Harry because I want to build up her character and personality. As always feel free to leave any and all feedback in a review or PM, and I'll try to get back to you. Until next time.


	4. Chapter 4

After one of the most eventful summers in Harry's life, he was now anxiously waiting for his return to what he would always call his first true home, Hogwarts. The rest of the summer had flown by in a blur of colors and memories, and all things considered, it hadn't been too bad.

While the trial had been an unforeseen negative that he wished he could have avoided, he had to admit that this had been one of his favorite summers ever. He had gotten out of the Dursley household far earlier than he normally did – even though it was under dodgy circumstances – and instead of spending his time miserably on Number Four Privet Drive, he spent it with his friends and his godfather building and strengthening relationships.

He had continued training in the art of occlumency, and if Sirius was to be believed, he was rather proficient in it so far. Due to the brilliance of his best friend Hermione, he had no doubt that he would pass the entry exam for runes when he returned to Hogwarts, and Dumbledore had told him that he would like to begin training Harry for his inevitable next confrontation with Voldemort. For the first time _ever_ Harry felt like he was moving forward and not just standing around waiting for things to happen, and he had to say it felt brilliant.

At the moment however, he was tapping his foot impatiently as he and Hermione waited for the Weasley's to finish their last-minute packing so they could all head to the platform together. Some things never changed Harry thought as he heard the twins scrambling back and forth upstairs. After what seemed like ages they finally all made it into the foyer where they lined up and took turns flooing to a point near the platform where they would have just a short walk to the magical barrier leading to platform nine and three quarters.

They got there with just a few minutes to spare and they all dutifully took their turns being crushed by Mrs. Weasley's hugs as she told them goodbye. Harry wished Sirius could be here, but they both recognized the danger that he would be in and had said their goodbyes back at Grimmauld. After a quick hug, Sirius had given Harry a mirror that they could use to communicate with one another whilst Harry was away, and he could hardly wait to test it out.

The mirror was safely tucked in Harrys case along with his other possessions. He knew he had to be careful about using it, because if he was nearly kicked out of Hogwarts for saving his own life from dementors, then what would the ministry do if they found him having a friendly conversation with a convicted mass murderer.

Harry pushed those thoughts away for the moment as they boarded the magical train, and he led the way towards the back looking for an empty compartment where they wouldn't be disturbed. Near the very back of the train he found what they were looking for and quickly claimed the gratefully empty compartment.

After Harry had put his own luggage away he turned to help Hermione stow hers also, and began to blush a bit after she beamed up at him in thanks. Finally, they were all settled and with a low whistle the train started its long journey towards Scotland and the ancient castle.

After a while they had settled in comfortably and each of them were distracting themselves with one thing or another, "Hey Hermione?" Harry said breaking the peaceful silence the three friends had amicably fallen into.

Hermione held up a finger indicating for Harry to wait as she finished her paragraph before marking her page and closing her book. "Yes Harry?"

"I was just curious as to when we had to go to the prefect meeting at the front of the train, I know you told me earlier, but I can't remember and I wouldn't want us to be late." Harry said with an embarrassed grin on his face.

"No problem, it's not until half past ten, and you should know by now that I wouldn't let us be late." Hermione pointed out.

Harry couldn't understand why, but that simple phrase made him angry with himself, it rang so true that it almost hurt him. She was basically telling him he would never have to worry about keeping track of things he should know because she would do it for him. He knew that it wasn't the same, but for a moment he felt as if he were treating her the way he was treated by the Dursley's his entire life, and that felt _awful_. He decided then that he would never mistreat her like that again.

"I know that you will always take care of me and I appreciate it, but I think it's unfair that I use you as a personal alarm clock or secretary. You deserve better and _we,_ " he said emphasizing the fact that Ron should be included in his statement as well "shouldn't do that to you."

"Harry, it really is no problem, I hardly mind –" Hermione started to reassure him, somewhat shocked by his sudden fierce apology, but she was cut off.

"No, he's right, we take advantage of you and that's not fair." Ron cut in surprising both Harry and Hermione. "From now on I promise to try to not rely on you so much anymore, and that means I'll try my best to do my work without you needing to nag or prod me."

"We both do." Harry said with a firm nod. The sudden exclamation from his other best mate had been surprising, but most definitely welcome.

"Just don't expect us to have everything done two weeks in advance like you do." Ron said, a smile playing on his lips. "We may be willing to do try and get it done on time, but that's just crazy."

Hermione sent a radiant smile at both of them, "Oh, you two –" she said embracing each of them in turn. Nagging them was something she never really minded doing, but it had sometimes drove a wedge between the three when Harry and Ron wanted to do nothing more than goof around for an afternoon or play quidditch. Now it seemed as if the higher level of maturity Harry had seemed to acquire was rubbing of on her other best friend and she was grateful for it.

Harry ignored his friend's misty eyes as she clung tightly to him. "Come on Hermione we have fifteen minutes 'til the meeting and I know how you like to be early." He said softly after she didn't seem to have any intention of breaking her embrace anytime soon.

Reluctantly she let go, "You're right, we should get going. We'll see you later Ron." She called over her shoulder as she led the way out of the compartment. Ron muttered an agreement already sitting back down and reaching for the quidditch magazine he had been reading earlier as Harry followed her out. Once they closed the door Hermione once again drew Harry in for a quick hug. "Thank you, Harry, really."

"No, thank you Hermione." He replied in the sincerest voice she had ever heard. Left unsaid was just how grateful he truly was for everything she had done for him, from helping with his homework to saving his life, but words weren't needed; she already knew. So with a nod of understanding they turned and headed towards the meeting side by side.

When they were nearly there Harry asked her "So who do you think the prefects for the other houses are going to be?"

Hermione regarded the question and after a moment of thought answered slowly, as if she were thinking through the question out loud. "For Ravenclaw I'd imagine it'd have to be Padma for the female prefect, as for the male one I'm not really sure, maybe Anthony Goldstein. Hufflepuff will have either Susan Bones or Hannah Abbot as the prefect, those two are nearly interchangeable when it comes to academic ability and are both genuinely nice," She said sending Harry a small grimace as they both thought back to the two Hufflepuff's wearing the 'Potter stinks' badges "and likely Ernie Macmillan for the males as he's undoubtedly most qualified."

After a moment, she continued "As for Slytherin I _thought_ it would be Malfoy and Parkinson, but you seem to know something that you're not willing to share." She sent him a pointed look and he simply shrugged in response. He wasn't sure of anything, but Dumbledore had said he would talk to Snape about appointing the most deserving person rather than playing favorites. They would find out in a few minutes whether or not he had held true to his word.

Harry pulled open the compartment which was empty except for the upcoming years head boy and girl. They were both from Ravenclaw and although Harry didn't know them well, he figured that they must be alright as Hermione looked upon them with approval. After a few more minutes the Ravenclaw prefects walked in together confirming Hermione's guess as Padma and Anthony sat down across from them discussing their summer arithmancy project as they waited for the meeting to start.

Not long after them Hannah Abbot walked in and a few minutes later they were also joined by Ernie. Now they had to wait to see whether or not Draco had been chosen unfairly over someone more deserving. Harry noticed he wasn't the only one who was getting a little antsy, as all of the other conversation had stopped and everyone was openly watching the door.

When the handle shook indicating there was someone on the other side, it seemed as if everyone in the small room was holding their breaths, which came rushing out in sighs of relief as they saw none other than Daphne Greengrass enter alongside Theodore Nott. The most audible sighs of relief came from the head boy and head girl, and it wasn't hard to understand why. Having to train Draco "I'll tell daddy if you're mean to me" Malfoy would have been difficult on the best days.

As Daphne sat down she sent Harry the slightest nod of recognition which he returned. Hermione looked between the two of them with a slightly confused expression and Harry mouthed silently, 'I'll tell you later.' Hermione seemed appeased by that and went back to listening to the meeting which had gotten underway as soon as everyone had arrived. Soon they were instructed on how patrolling would work and how to best help out the younger years, and Harry was paying rapt attention taking every detail into account. He would be the best damn prefect Gryffindor had ever seen.

* * *

Daphne was currently walking alongside Theodore Nott as they patrolled the train. They were both already dressed in their school robes as they had gotten the last shift and had both decided to change prior to their scheduled patrol. They were currently only a few minutes away from the ancient school, and Daphne was starting to get antsy.

Theodore Nott was the second worst boy in her year that she could've been stuck with behind Malfoy. She would even prefer one of the gorillas that constantly flanked the blonde git to this utter buffoon. Since their scheduled patrol had begun an hour prior, he had constantly been trying to 'enrapture her with his smooth talking, and irresistible charm' as he had so eloquently put it. She had asked him nicely to be left alone and even asked him rudely before eventually threatening him with bodily harm, but the idiot would not shut up.

Daphne could hardly wait until they were out of sight of so many witnesses; her thoughts on how and where to curse him had been getting progressively darker since they started patrolling and she was itching to see if real life would live up to the expectations of her imagination.

Currently he was spouting off some nonsense about how a priestess in Egypt had read his palm and claimed he would be the next Merlin, "And that sugar badger, is when I knew I was destined to become a great wizard. I already knew of course, but that just gave me the confir-"

"First of all, if you ever call me anything besides Greengrass ever again I will chop off your bollocks with a rusty knife and force feed them to you." Daphne interrupted with an icy glare and venom in her voice. Nott took a step back looking genuinely frightened for the first time after one of her threats. "Secondly, I couldn't possibly care less about the nonsense that dribbles out of that inept mouth of yours, do I make myself clear?"

Nott shook his head in the affirmative, and only a few seconds after that the head boy caught up with them and let them know that they could head back to their compartments. Daphne took great satisfaction in the way that Nott ran away from her as soon as he could, and headed back towards her own compartment where Tracey, Astoria, and a friend of Astoria's from Slytherin in the same year, were all getting ready to exit the train.

Tracey asked her friend whether or not anything interesting had happened while she was gone and Daphne out loud denied any problems, but gave her friend an 'I'll tell you later' look. Tracey nodded her understanding and in no time they were off the train, heading towards one of the horseless carriages that would be their ride to the castle. The group of four stuck together all the way to the Great Hall where they sat down and awaited the sorting of the first years to take place.

The sorting went on without a hitch and Daphne, ever the proud Slytherin, joined in the applauding of her housemates whenever a young student was deemed fit of joining the house of the cunning and ambitious. It was after the sorting took place that things took an interesting turn.

Just like every other year, Headmaster Dumbledore went through the beginning of year announcements where he gave a customary welcome a few warnings and announced the new teachers. It was in that last category where things began to go awry. After Professor Dumbledore introduced the toad looking women that Daphne immediately recognized from Harry's trial she had actually interrupted him in a sickly-sweet voice and gave a long-winded speech basically saying that defense this year would be completely based off of theoretical magic rather than practical magic.

Daphne looked around to see how others were reacting to this news, and was disappointed to see a lot of blank stares. However, there were also some upset looks throughout the throngs of students mainly from the fifth and seventh year students. It made sense too, how were they supposed to pass NEWT's and OWL's in defense without using practical magic? Daphne really hoped that this toad like hag wasn't being serious, she could try her best to learn spells on her own, but that wasn't always the safest option especially with spells belonging to the DADA curriculum.

After what seemed like forever the annoyingly sweet voice stopped as her speech finally came to a halt. She was met with no applause until Dumbledore awkwardly started it for her, but even then, only a few students joined in. The great hall remained awkwardly quiet until the food came in and only then did the conversation begin to pick up once more.

Daphne turned to Tracey after they had loaded their plates with food and asked her in a whispered hiss "Did you hear the garbage that woman was spouting?"

"Yeah, I don't know if she truly expects us to go into our OWL's with no knowledge on practical magic, but if she does than she might actually be crazy." Tracey replied with a sour look on her face. After a moment of deliberation, she continued "As far as I can tell the ministry sent her here, so they must have at the very least approved this… this..."

"Utter garbage?" Daphne suggested helpfully. Tracey nodded and Daphne shook her head in disgust. "You know that's the same woman from Potter trial that I told you about."

Tracey looked up towards the head table again and suddenly she looked as though she might laugh. "You're right! She does look like a human got stuck halfway through being transfigured into a toad." She said with a chuckle. "But that means my guess was right," she said a moment later after sobering up, "She's here on account of the ministry trying to push some bullshit agenda. You would think they would've learned after the headmaster and Potter shut them down so soundly at the trial earlier on in the summer."

Daphne nodded, "But it is the ministry we're talking about and they're not exactly known for being very smart." She replied.

"That's true. So, what happened earlier while you were patrolling? You gave me the 'we'll discuss it later look'" Tracey asked her.

"Well…" she went on to explain what had happened as her best friend listened closely, adding a remark or two where appropriate and nodding her head as necessary. By the end of her story – or maybe it was more of a rant at this point – Tracey seemed just as upset as she had been, but also seemed close to laughing.

"What the fuck is a sugar badger?" she asked after Daphne finally finished telling her story.

"I have no clue, but coming from him it sounded disgusting." Daphne replied with a shrug.

"What are you going to do about him?" Tracey asked her friend, some real concern shining through in her voice. They had both always been very protective of each other, ever since they were two quiet and timid first years.

"I wish I could just do what I want to and put him in the hospital wing for the entirety of the school year, but I would probably be stripped of my own badge then." She said regrettably. "The only other option would be to talk to the head boy or girl, maybe ask them to put me with someone else. I might be able to claim he and I don't get along well enough to work together and that might make them put me with someone else." She replied thinking aloud.

"Any of the other prefects would be better than him." agreed Tracey.

The conversation from that point on flowed easily as it normally did between the two of them and Astoria also joined in on their discussion asking for clarification on what the new defense professor had been saying. They explained it to her and she was soon as upset as they were about the level of instruction that would be taking place.

Soon enough, the three switched onto more pleasant topics and spoke about nonsensical things as they finished dinner and began on dessert. Astoria had just finished arguing a point on why she was most definitely suited for a spot on the quidditch team. Although she would never play the sport at school, especially as the member of a team notorious for cheating and playing dirty, she was actually quite talented when it came to flying.

Daphne was about to retort that her sister was too fair to play dirty when Dumbledore announced that it was time for the students to head to their dormitories. Instead she got up and bade Tracey and her sister goodbye, and began to call for the first years to follow her.

As she led the new students down towards the dungeons she couldn't help but let her mind wander to all the issues that were cropping up already. However, she couldn't not be excited at the prospect of a new year being underway, even with so many things going wrong at the start. Starting school again was always exciting for her and this year with the added weight of OWL's and being a prefect, she was looking forward to challenging herself. Daphne thrived under pressure, and weird as it may seem, she was looking forward to proving herself amidst these seemingly endless struggles.

oOoOoOo

After a slightly restless night due to the sudden change in setting, Daphne woke up before the rest of her roommates and began to set up a shower. She was almost always the first one awake, most days getting up before dawn. The only exception being on weekends when she preferred to have a bit of a lie in, but even then, she was usually awake before everyone else, a fact that was proven true as Daphne remembered today was actually Saturday. Rarely did September 2nd land on a Saturday, but this year that was exactly what had happened, which meant that they had two days off for the weekend before they began classes.

Daphne got up and went to the shower to begin her morning ritual. As she fiddled with the knob in the shower trying to get the water to a pleasant temperature she suddenly remembered that as a prefect she would be allowed to use the prefects bath. She had been so surprised at the fact that she had actually been made a prefect that the thought had completely slipped her mind, even though she had been thinking of exactly that prior to knowing.

Feeling slightly better, she finished her shower and after quickly drying her hair and body with a charm, she dressed into a black skirt and a green jumper which showed her house colors even without the uniform, but had the added side effect of making her eyes pop. A little bit of makeup finished the ensemble and she was soon ready to go.

While she had been getting dressed Tracey had also woken up and taken a quick shower, and Daphne hardly had to wait on her friend as she got dressed quickly. Once they were both ready to go Daphne led the way up towards the great hall, and they made it up in no time as the stairs seemed to be in a cooperative mood. When they entered the large hall they saw that it was mostly empty except for a few Ravenclaws and a lone Hufflepuff.

They quietly seated themselves close to the doors and began to pile their plates high with the delicious elf-prepared foods they found in front of them. They kept up light conversation throughout breakfast and in no time the hall began to fill little by little until a generous number of students had accumulated at their respective tables, and the air was filled with the constant buzz of conversation.

Daphne and Tracey were both watching carefully to see who walked in, as the two preferred to leave before Malfoy or any of his ilk could try to talk to them. Surprisingly enough Nott walked in by himself. This wasn't a big deal as sometimes people wake up at different times or had prior arrangements they had to attend to, but about a quarter hour later the rest of the group containing Malfoy and the others walked in and pointedly sat away from the shorter brunette boy.

That _was_ a change of events as normally he was part of the little group that clung to Malfoy like flies to dung, but it seemed he had either decided to ditch them or he was no longer wanted. This was an interesting turn of events, and Daphne turned to discuss it with her best friend, "Did you see Nott walk in by himself?" She asked quietly as to not be overheard by someone sitting close to them.

Tracey nodded in response before replying in an equally low voice "Do you think it has to do with the prefectship?"

This time is was Daphne's turn to nod her agreement before she gestured that they stand up and make their way out of the hall. "My guess would be he either believes himself better than his former friends or Malfoy is more upset then he's letting on after being snubbed of the position." She responded in a more normal tone of voice now that they had exited the room full of students.

"Yeah I came to the same conclusions. If it's the latter you should be careful, you never know when that bint Parkinson might try something." Tracey had genuine concern showing on her face, but Daphne wasn't too worried.

"Please, Crabbe and Goyle are arguably more of a threat magically than her." she replied haughtily.

Tracey however didn't look convinced. "Just promise me you'll be careful. I know you're smart and powerful, but I wouldn't put it past them to try something sneaky."

"I promise Trace, besides with you by my side, not even they're stupid enough to try anything. I think they might actually be more scared of you than me which is saying something." Daphne replied hoping to get a positive reaction out of her friend.

"Damn straight they are. You remember that one time Malfoy tried to put the moves on you and I gave him those boils that he couldn't magic away for a week." She said a reminiscent smile appearing on her face.

"Ah the good old days, second year was a blast wasn't it." She replied causing both girls to laugh. "Come on let's go for a walk around the lake we only have so much of nice Scottish weather before all the rain begins."

* * *

Harry woke up Monday morning ready to begin his academic school year. So far everything was going well besides a minor incident with his roommate and friend Seamus Finnigan. Apparently, the Irishmen's mother believed the tripe that the Prophet was saying about him and Dumbledore, but when Harry had simply told him to believe what he wanted to and gone to sleep it left him in a loop.

Eventually after talking to Ron and Dean who had both vouched for Harry, the young man agreed that it was probably the prophet that was lying about him and not the other way around. Harry had also taken the entrance exam for Runes Sunday afternoon and passed with flying colors. He had also set up a tentative schedule for his meetings with Dumbledore, agreeing they would try to meet every Sunday evening for a lesson.

The first lesson had gone well as Dumbledore continued his legilimency training, but for the first time Harry had done more than practice exercises to clear and order his mind. Dumbledore had begun to teach him how to lay down a foundation for defense that they could build upon. It left Harry feeling tired beyond words and physically and emotionally drained, but content with the knowledge that he was getting somewhere. Dumbledore had told him that as soon as his defenses were of a solid enough level they could begin their training on the history of Voldemort.

Now however he was eating breakfast with Hermione to his right and Ron to his left. They were mostly finished with their food, besides Ron who could put away seemingly endless amounts, but they were still seated, waiting for Ms. McGonagall to hand out their timetables. Finally, she made her way over to the table and began to pass out the parchment containing their class schedules.

Harry looked at his schedule and gave a low whistle. "Damn, history of magic, double potions with the Slytherins, ancient runes, and double DADA all back to back. What a way to start the week."

Hermione looked as if she was about to admonish him for his language, but instead just grimaced in response, "And tomorrow is double charms, double transfiguration, care of magical creatures and herbology." She said instead.

Harry sent her his own grimace, the first two days of their week would be grueling, but the rest of it was rather light. They even had a free day on Thursday besides Astronomy in the evening, and only DADA with the Hufflepuffs on Friday.

"Well we better get going, History starts in a few minutes." Hermione said causing Ron to groan. Harry had to admit he wasn't looking forward to it either, Binns could put just about anyone to sleep, even Hermione if she was tired enough. But, the three friends stood up anyway and began to maneuver the hallways and staircases to get to their first class of the week.

oOoOoOo

History went like every lesson they'd had up to that point. Right at the hour Binns floated in and began teaching with no welcome or introduction Harry and Ron tried their hardest to pay attention and Harry fared a bit better than Ron who had given in to sleep after half an hour of struggling to keep his drooping eyes open. Hermione as always took meticulous notes and Harry tried his best to take notes as well, but stopped when Hermione had mercifully told him he could look over hers after class.

Potions began with Snape giving a speech to let them know this year would be more difficult as they would have to take OWL's at the end of the year and therefore he would be covering more difficult subject matter to prepare them. After his spiel, he set them loose so that they could each individually attempt to make a ridiculously complicated draught. Harry paid close attention to instructions and despite some mild goading from Snape stayed focused on getting it right.

By the time class had ended he'd gotten nearly the exact shade of orange that the instructions associated with perfect completion, and basked in the brief flash of surprise on Snape's face when he turned in his labeled glass bottle. He was currently walking on air as he made his way towards the new Defense classroom, but the feeling didn't last long.

Professor Umbridge had started her class by reiterating what she had said at the opening feast. "So, seeing as there are no real threats we don't need to learn any practical magic." she responded to the third question asked about why the students wouldn't be using their wands in her annoying, sickly sweet voice. However, it was easy to see the beginnings of her frustration begin to poke through her fake sweet exterior.

"How will we be expected to perform these spells in the practical portion of our OWL's if we have no practice with them beforehand?" This time it was Ernie Macmillan asking the question.

"Five points from Hufflepuff for speaking out of turn! And to answer your question if we are sound in theory, practice will not matter as you should be able to cast the spell perfectly regardless." She replied speaking slowly as if the students she was addressing were toddlers rather than teenagers.

There was an audible scoff from the class at her ludicrous statement, but Harry was more upset at the fact that she had earlier stated that there was no current danger. He did his best to bite his tongue, but she was making it difficult especially with her next remark. "I know that _certain individuals_ " She said shooting a pointed look Harrys way "are trying to spread rumors about how there is a 'dead dark lord returned from the dead' and other types of lies, and look at all of you, frightened thinking you need to train like soldiers for war. I'm here to assure you that you are all perfectly safe." she said in what was probably the most reassuring tone she could muster.

Harry was about to shout out in anger at the obvious accusation, but Hermione grabbed his arm effectively calming him down. Instead the next outburst came from Susan Bones. "It's not training for war," she said with disgust in her voice. "It's learning how to defend ourselves in case we are in a situation that requires it. Heaven knows there aren't enough aurors to be everywhere at once."

"Ten points from Hufflepuff for speaking out of turn." Umbridge snapped "What is your name girl?"

"Susan Bones, and I'm sure auntie Amelia, the head of the DMLE, will have something to say about this ludicrous teaching method." She responded hotly.

Harry thought he might've imagined it, but Umbridge seemed to pale a bit. Harry knew that the smear campaign against himself and professor Dumbledore had been going relatively well until the dementor incident, but afterwards when he had proven in court that he wasn't a crazy lying psychopath it caused many people to doubt what the ministry were writing and saying.

Harry also knew Amelia Bones was a prominent ministry official and should she come out against what the minister was implementing at Hogwarts, especially with the support of Dumbledore, the people would do what they could to get rid of ministry influence in the school.

Harry was interrupted from his thoughts as Umbridge seemingly recollected her wits and shouted, "That is enough! All of you get out now, I want three feet of parchment on why theoretical magic is more important than practical magic by the next time I see you." By the time she finished she was panting as if she had run a marathon, and had turned an absolutely wonderful shade of puce Harry had never seen, even on his uncle.

The students quickly collected their things and hurried out of the classroom, eager to get away from the upset teacher. Once Harry was outside he could hear them talking to one another about what a dumb policy this no practical magic rule was, and he agreed completely.

"Let's go to the library and pick up some books so we can get started on this assignment." Hermione said to him and Ron as they had began to make their way towards the common room. "Class ended really early so we should be able to get through about a foot of it before Harry and I need to go start our patrols."

The two voiced their agreement and once they had picked up the books they needed they headed towards the common room to set to work. Two mind numbingly boring hours later and they had soldiered through a foot and a half of the essay that Umbridge had assigned them and it was time for Harry and Hermione to head out on patrol.

As they were walking towards the meeting point where they would relieve the other two prefects on duty who had pulled the earlier shift they talked about tomorrows classes, and more specifically ancient runes. "We'll likely be starting with a refresher on Egyptian hieroglyphs before moving on to the Norse runes we're going to be studying later on." Hermione was telling him "At least that's the way she started last year, by giving us a refresher on Greek and Latin runes before transitioning to…"

Harry looked at his friend quizzically to see why she had stopped talking and followed her gaze. There, waiting next to the classroom where the shift change normally occurred, were the two Slytherin prefects. That was to be expected. The shocking part was that Theodore Nott had been stripped to his underwear, bound and gagged, and hanging from the ceiling. He also appeared to be a bit bruised and bleeding from some small cuts.

"Hello" Daphne greeted casually.

"Hi Daphne, how was your shift?" Responded Harry a bit too cheerfully.

"Oh, it went pretty well until Ted here," she said while motioning to the boy that was currently half naked and hanging from the ceiling, "was being quite annoying, but I could live with that. However, about 15 minutes ago while we were walking towards here to meet the two of you he groped me and then tried to kiss me. That resulted in his current predicament."

"Ah, makes sense." Nodded Harry sagely. "And the cutting and bruising?" he asked continuing the casual conversation while Hermione looked back and forth unsure what to make of it and Theodore looked at them with pleading eyes.

"We were down a floor when he tried this, and my levitating charm is just so fickle. I may have dropped him from the top of the stairs… five or six times." Harry looked impressed and Daphne sent him a small smile.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I can get the swish just right, but the flick is tough." Harry said with the slightest chuckle.

Daphne looked close to laughing herself "Well if you'll excuse us I think I have to take him to the hospital wing he had a freezing charm applied somewhere, shall we say, sensitive. Would hate to have it freeze and fall off." Theodore's eyes began to panic, and he tried to scream through the gag.

"Well we won't keep you any longer. Have a good night Daphne, and try not to drop him too many times on the way to the hospital wing." Harry said in parting.

"We'll see." was her simple response. Then, as she was about to turn the corner she called over her shoulder, "Good night Harry, Granger." And she was gone.

Hermione turned to Harry still seemingly unable to speak, and he just chuckled at her. "You know in all the years I've known you I'm not sure if I've ever seen you struck speechless before. Well, except for that one time with the basilisk, but that doesn't really count." He laughed teasing her a bit.

"Oh you… you prat!" She said, finally able to turn thoughts into words. "Come on let's start our patrols while we talk." She said and once they were underway she picked up the conversation again. "So, it's obvious you know Daphne Greengrass, I could tell that much from the meeting on the train, but when did you guys meet? I haven't seen you say a word to her in your first four years here, and right now you guys were talking as if you've known each other forever."

"We bumped into each other after the trial. She told me that she was on my side and that she was glad that I won. We talked for all of thirty seconds before I left to find you and Ron." He told her the story as it had happened shrugging as though it was no big deal. "As for just now I'm not really sure. Honestly I thought you'd be more upset about what she did to Nott."

"I have no sympathy for anyone who tries to take advantage of a girl, or anyone for that matter." She replied with a sour look on her face. "Besides Nott is nearly as bad as Malfoy, he just lacks the wealth and prestige to back up all his idiotic nonsense."

"He had it coming." Harry agreed, "Come on I packed the map so we could see if there's actually anyone out, without having to waste hours actually searching."

Hermione looked impressed "I didn't even think of that."

"Can't let you have all the good ideas." He said as he opened the map and activated it. "Looks like we're clear for the moment. How about we head to the kitchens and see if they have any leftover treacle tart?" He asked with a hopeful voice.

"Oh, alright then let's go," she conceded. "But keep your eyes on the map, and if we see anyone we leave immediately." Harry was quick to agree, and they began to head down towards the kitchens talking lightly between the two of them.

A/N: Hey guys hope you enjoyed this next chapter, if it seems all over the place it's because I'm trying to get everything setup, but rest assured we're getting there. I would love your feedback and ideas on the story, and while I have a plan in mind I'm open to any suggestions you might have or any criticisms. See you next time!

A/N 2: Timetables and other facts including dates and how legilimency works are taken from the Harry Potter wiki.


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